Santa Clause is Coming to Town

Here are some pictures of the kids with Santa. Can you guess who the guy in the big red suit is? Well, that didn't stop Eden from being really scared. I had to force her to sit on his lap.

Fred's Little Look-Alike

For those of you out there who know my dad, here is a picture that I think proves that Miles is indeed his grandson. The resemblance is uncanny sometimes!

Miles' Blessing Day

We blessed Miles this past Sunday. The main thing I remember John blessing him with was an ability to make good choices. He looked so handsome in the outfit his Grandma Nevie brought, and in the booties his aunt Maria crocheted for him!

Halloween

We had a great time trick-or-treating on Halloween. Eden loved the response she got in her Elmo costume. I tried to create a Cookie Monster costume for Miles out of a towel my friend gave me, but it didn't turn out very well. Mainly, Miles couldn't stand to have it on his head. He screamed until I took it off and put him in a little sleeper that had a duck bill on the hood. Ta Da--costume choice number two! Thank heaven for back ups.

John's parents and his nephew Andre were in town for Miles's baby blessing, so Andre came along trick-or-treating to help us with the kids. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was perfect! Here are a few photos to include you all in our fun.

New Pics of Miles

Here are a couple new pics of Miles. I can't believe how fast he is growing!

Pumpkin Festival

Last Saturday we skipped the Saturday morning session of General Conference to go to the annual Pumpkin Festival at Four Mile Historic Park. We had a great time, and here are some pictures to prove it.



Edie loved watching the real horses pulling wagons and carriages, but she was not at all keen on the stick version. Go figure.












John and Edie pose in front of one of three Tee Pees. Hey John, aren't you supposed to carry your "papoose" on your back? (You can see Miles's feet sticking out from the Baby Bjorn, if you look carefully.)



As hard to believe as it is, Eden being the granddaughter of a farmer, this was her first time seeing goats and chickens. She also got to see bees working in a hive. She had a great time!












Finally we got to spend some time in the pumpkin patch getting some great keepsake shots for the photo album.


We had such a good time, we're thinking of perhaps making this a family tradition.

Baby Miles

Well, now that I can finally get up the stairs again, it is time to show off my beautiful baby boy, Miles Burton Wanberg. He was "yanked into the world," as John puts it, on August 27th at 11:36 am. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz., and had a huge noggin (14.5 inches circumference). He is adorable! He looks just like a miniature John. He is a good baby, but is not shy about screaming LOUDLY when he is in need of assistance. We are so excited to have our new little man, and are learning to adjust to two babies at home. Eden has done pretty well accepting her baby brother. She keeps walking over to his bouncy chair and saying, "Hey, dude," or "Hey broth'a."(mimicking mom and dad).

Char and Miles in Recovery


Eden and John Visit Brother in the Hospital

Miles at Two Weeks

My recovery this time has been rougher than it was with Eden. My incision actually opened up on the day we came home from the hospital. (I'll spare you the pictures my wound care nurse took.) But thanks to family, friends, and my home care nurse Angela, I am doing much better...almost completely healed. A BIG THANKS to my two moms, my sis-in-love Emily, my dad, Liz and Johnny for taking good care of Eden and me while I was unable to do much.

Planned Nesting

Today I am nesting around the house. Got the kitchen and bathroom clean, and caught up on the laundry. Made sure I had all the baby's newborn clothes in a convenient drawer. I guess there are pros to having a C-Section, after all. At least you get to get things in order the night before, find babysitters, and do all the planning you can before the big arrival. I want to thank all my Denver friends in advance for being so willing to help out with Edie while I'm in the hospital! My little sister is also going to be a huge help, and I love her for it! I'm really sorry to Susan, Net, and everyone else for having to hear me complain about the C-Section. I am finally getting an attitude adjustment, and realizing what a blessing it is to have the opportunity to deliver a healthy baby, no matter how we achieve it. I am so grateful to live in a day and age when it is relatively safe to have such a big surgery. It has finally hit me that tomorrow I will get the chance to meet our new baby boy...TOMORROW! How thrilling is that?!

My Man (Tagged)

John and Edie love eating popcorn together.

What is his name? John J. Wanberg

How long have you been married? Nearly 4 years.

How long did you date? Well, we've known each other for 10 years, but we only dated for 7 months before we got engaged (four of which we lived in different states).

How old is he? Almost 35.

Who eats more sweets? We each hold our own. We both eat a whole lot more than we should.

Who said "I love you" first? He said it first in the most eloquent love letter ever! However, I think it was pretty obvious to him that I was smitten by him from the first time we met.

Who is taller? John

Who can sing better? He does. He takes every opportunity to sing in the choirs in our ward and stake. He has an amazing, deep, bass voice. It also allows him to do a pretty awesome Barry White impression.

Who is smarter? John is...HANDS DOWN. He knows everything, I swear! You can ask him how they manufacture anything ever made. He retains everything he hears or reads. Sometimes I think I married a genius, which can intimidate me, until we start talking about farming stuff. Then he trusts that I know more.

Who does the laundry? We share the responsibility simply because I forget a lot of the time, and he takes the initiative before he runs out of clothes to wear.

Who pays the bills? John. I make like 5% of what he does, and that is only when I am working part-time...soon to end.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? John does. Don't know why we got in that routine. Just did.

Who mows the lawn? Lawn?! Wouldn't that be nice. Actually we do have a small patch in front of our townhome that the landscapers take care of.

Who cooks dinner? I usually do, but John is king when it comes to whipping up something amazing on the spot. He can always find things from the cupboard and fridge and assemble them into a tasty dish. He is also a master at baking. His cookies won a prize at our Stake fair a couple years ago.

Who drives? I hate driving.

Who is more stubborn? We are both stubborn. If we didn't share as many opinions as we do, we would butt heads all the time. We're both know-it-alls, but I usually have to back down simply because John truly knows more about the subject in the end.

Who asked out whom first? I did, and it was one of the worst dates either of us ever went on. We were both so nervous, we couldn't talk. It was horrible! We didn't talk or email for about six months after that date. Good thing we eventually tried again a year later when we were both in Utah again, because that's when things really sparked.

Who proposed? John proposed in the Mesa, AZ temple. We had been going to the temple together for awhile, and on the day he proposed I was completely unaware he was proposing. He said something like, "I want to ask you to marry me." I told him that I knew I wanted to marry him. Then he reached into his pocket, and it finally hit me that this was the proposal. It was hard to contain myself in the temple. I was overwhelmed with joy.

Who has more siblings? I do. John has three younger sisters. There are 6 kids in my family.

Who wears the pants? Depends on who you ask. We both get to wear the pants, but I'm the only one who gets to wear a skirt...if you know what I mean.

Well, that's the man we all know and love! I hereby tag: Tracy, Susan, Net, Kim L., Jessica, and Emily W.

Pickens Plan

Many of you may have heard about Al Gore's non-partisan challenge to repower America in the next 10 years. I am so excited to see all the support his challenge has been getting. I heard part of his speech from a conference that was held in DC this month, and truly feel America is finally prepared to take action on our energy crisis. It is possible to solve most of our problems if both political parties will take action and attack the two central issues that keep causing us grief...global warming and an overwhelming dependence on oil.

Anyone heard of T. Boone Pickens? I just saw a commercial the other night referring to his plan to switch American energy to domestic, renewable energy. He is apparently an oil man who is investing in wind energy farms. Will he profit if we switch 22% of our energy to wind power? Absolutely, but that's fine with me, as long as we start looking for viable solutions to our dependence on foreign oil. I am a huge supporter of wind, solar, and wave energy. They are all renewable with very little impact on the environment. Oil is not a renewable resource. No matter how long we stall, the supply is going to eventually run out, and in the meantime we are not being responsible to the environment. The misconception that is being propagated right now that drilling for more oil will help us get out of our steep gas prices is not the full truth. It will take years for any new drilling to impact the economy(more than one presidential or senatorial term), and by the time we get ourselves set up, China will be a huge player in petroleum imports. It simply won't work in our favor. I think this T. Boone Pickens' plan sounds reasonable, for a change. He is stepping up to Gore's challenge, and I hope many will follow. Check out his website in my links at the bottom right of my blog. And please feel free to share your opinion to this blog post. I am still learning, and love to hear other perspectives.

Fourth of July

We may not have gone to any fireworks, but we did get the barbeque and watermelon in.

Just Sing...Sing a Song!

Eden is quite the little singer. She used to open the Primary Children's Songbook and start singing whatever she could make up. Now she does it with nearly any book, and she absolutely loves singing in the car. She has loved music practically from the day she was born. She loves to be sung to before bed, and loves joining in the songs at our library's "Book Babies". I wish I could catch her singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with the camera, but she typically gets distracted whenever she sees the camera. She wants to see the pictures on the LCD screen instead of being photographed. Here is the one and only time I was able to catch her singing. Enjoy the video, and crank up the volume on your computer!

New Edie Pics

Finally! Here are some new pictures of Edie, whom I might mention will be going into Nursery in one more week! I am soooo excited!

Edie is becoming fond of dress-up.

Here she is in her summer dress and ponytail. She looks so grown up!

Tagged x TWO

I just got tagged for the very first time this week. Not by one person, but by TWO! Can you believe it. Maybe I'm becoming popular, after all these years! Well...let's not go that far, just yet. Anyway, for this tag I was asked by my friend Leslie to share 7 things about myself. So here we go. (I apologize for the poor quality of most of these pictures. It's our scanner.)

1. I am very opinionated. I have an opinion about almost any subject. I try to tone it down, most of the time, until my blood just starts to boil, and my opinions just come shooting out of my mouth like steam. Not good, I know. My two favorite things to discuss are politics and social issues. I am very lucky that my husband shares most of my views. However, I am very good at looking at things from other people's perspectives, as well. Sometimes I take the opposite view of how I really feel, just to play "Devil's Advocate." I know I may come across as confrontational at times, but the truth is, I am just trying to get a meaty discussion going.


2. I love being in front of people. It is the best high ever! I love acting. I love teaching. I think I have talent in both areas, but the people in the audience / classroom may disagree with me. I have not performed for several years; not since I returned from my mission, but here is a photo of me performing for a Shakespeare competition my Senior year of high school. My partner and I won second place in our division that year. I really miss being on stage.


3. Something peculiar about me is that I love being behind the scenes just as much as I love performing out front. Many of my favorite classes at BYU were my screen-writing and directing courses. Before we moved to Colorado I worked as a member of the production crew for CBS 5 News in Phoenix. The spring before I got married I spent 4 months in New York City working as a casting intern for a feature film that none of you can see, because it has some questionable content in it. New York was really fun, but there was no way my career could compete with the amazing John Wanberg!


4. That brings me to the greatest decision I ever made. I married the man I had loved for six years before we ever started dating. My husband is truly my ideal husband. He is the most considerate, compassionate, and exciting man I have ever known. He is an amazing father, a talented designer, and an all-around good person. We are best friends, and there is no one I would rather spend time with than him. We have been married for nearly four years now, and I thank God every day that he blessed me with such an amazing, eternal friend.


5. I grew up on a dry farm near Tremonton, Utah. Admittedly I am not the hardest worker in the world. Sometimes when people hear I am a farm girl, they assume that means I don't mind getting up at the crack of dawn, and working all day. Not the case with me. I do however love to get dirty. Most of my summers were spent pulling rye, hauling rock, or driving grain truck during harvest. Here is a picture of me doing some clean up in our farm yard about 4 years ago.


6. One of my favorite places to be is outdoors. I love going for walks on the nature paths along Cherry Creek and the Highline Canal. I used to love hiking...before I got pregnant with my first child. I enjoy fly fishing, camping, roller-blading, even just sitting outside. I will admit, however, now that I am a mother and live in a new state, I have become ridiculously afraid of bears. It is one of my biggest fears that Eden will somehow smell like food, and a bear will drag her out of our tent while we're sleeping. My friends assure me that this is really unlikely. But I just can't seem to let go of my paranoia.


7. Those who have been around me the past couple of months will be amazed by this, but I love experimenting with makeup. I have read books on makeup application, and have done quite a few makeovers for friends and family. I love learning about different styles of makeup, and I used to try many of them out on myself...before I was chasing a toddler all day. I worked as a makeup artist for one of my friends short films a few years ago, and had a great time. In high school we even worked with latex, and blood and gore for Halloween. This is a picture of one of my former roommates. I convinced her to let me practice on her. She's a cat.


Well, there you go. There's 7 things about me. Hope you didn't get too bored reading all this.

I hereby tag: Corina, Heather G., Susan, Shary, Blair, Tracy, Lorielle

Tagged

My friend Liz tagged me with this challenge:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

Here it is: "The School for Wives" Act II, scene 5. Moliere (I've never actually read this play.)

AGNES: Indeed he did! My hands and arms he seized, And kissed and kissed them, seeming very pleased.

ARNOLPHE: Agnes, was there anything else he took? (Seeing her taken aback) Ouf!

Okay, I have absolutely no idea what this is about. I only have this book because it also contains another of Moliere's plays, "Tartuffe," from which I memorized a monologue at one time.

I am afraid to tag anyone else, so I guess the buck stops here...this time. So, you're all off the hook.

Edie's Perch

Some days I think Edie is one year going on 25. She wants to be up where mommy and daddy are doing things ALL the time. So I let her sit on the counter when I am washing dishes or preparing dinner. And yes I have had a few scares while she's been up there. For the most part, though, she is pretty well behaved, as long as she can see and be a part of what's going on.



Edie reading some home repair books we checked out from the library.






















Why play with toys when you can wash dishes?

Demolition Begins!

John got a "bee in his bonnet," as my mom always says, this past weekend and decided to tear out one of the walls along our basement staircase. It is the first step in our summer project: a bedroom for the babies. He has been so excited about the new look, he has gone down there more in the past two days than in the entire 7 months we've lived here.

Ultrasound Results

Yep, Eden is going to have a baby BROTHER!
We are thrilled. Best of all he looks healthy as can be.

Grandma Ruth

My Grandma Ruth was recently interviewed for an article in USU's alumni magazine. She graduated from USU in 1930. She was one of 53 women to graduate that year.