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Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Card 2012





It’s been another great year for our little family, and as you can see from the picture, we’ll be adding another child (look out world) in 2013! This news has made us very excited for what’s to come and we can’t wait for round two of no sleep, poopy diapers, and all the other fun stuff that comes with it. We should know the gender of the baby within the next few weeks….I’m sure Madi will blog about it once we find out.

This past year was filled with lots of fun. We made our yearly hajj to Lake Powell in July. I was fortunate enough to break my nose the first day on the tube, and then on days 3 and 4 my ears got plugged up and I couldn’t hear anything. It was awesome. We also made a trip to St. George in February to visit Grandma and Grandpa Sargent; our family’s own take on ‘Southern Hospitality.’

Madi is still the workout queen at our house. She loves running, cycling, and all of her other myriad activities. This past spring she ran her first FULL marathon (the Ogden Marathon). I supported her, of course, from the comfort of the shade near the finish line with a Dr. Pepper in hand. I consider myself a decent husband. She also participated in another Ragnar Relay race and her team did very well. As great as Madi is at her outdoor activities, it’s no contest for the quality of mother she is to Lula.

I’ve had an eventful year as well. I was working at Zions Bank until April, when I took a new job with Fusion-io in Holladay, UT. I am part of their sales team and help to support the Midwestern United States. I have loved the challenge of learning a new industry and delving deeper into technology (who’d have guessed). I’ve been enjoying rec softball and basketball leagues, as well as golf tournaments at every opportunity. We bought a new (used, but new to us) car in August from a dealer auction in Dallas, TX. I flew down there to pick it up and drove home in a straight shot (23 hours or so). Don’t recommend that.

Lula is the joy of our lives. She’s so smart and sometimes even tells us, “I a genius.” She just turned two on the 8th of December, and is currently obsessed with “Buddy and Buzz,” aka Toy Story. She’s learning handfuls of new words/phrases every day. Among her latest are these:
  •  Anytime she burps or sneezes she says, “’scuse me!”
  • When the dog is barking…yes, the dog (we actually bought a dog)…she says, “Penny, stop! Go eat your food.” I’m not sure where she learned this behavior.
  • Whenever she likes what she is eating she exclaims, “Deee-wishous!”
  • Lately her favorite question is “What is that for?”
  • When she’s riding on our back like a horse she yells, “I’m a cowboy-girl!”
  • When I come home from work she’ll occasionally turn to Madi and yell, “It’s my daddy!”

She’s learned more about manipulating in two years than I’ve learned in 28, but we sure love her nonetheless. Anytime we tell her no, she immediately collapses to the ground or onto the couch and her face goes into both of her hands, at which point you can hear her ‘sobbing’….until the minute you offer her something she likes and she’s all smiles. What a con artist! She’s also great at avoiding going to bed. The minute we tell her that it’s bedtime, she tells daddy that she wants to snuggle…and she’s obviously a Sargent because she loves having her back tickled. She continues to make us smile each day and we love having her be a part of our lives.

We hope this Christmas finds you happy and well! We love our friendship with each of you and wish you the best in 2013!

Love,
The Sargents (Rand, Madi, Lula, and baby)

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Its been a while....

Why hello blogging world! Sorry that we havent spoken or talked as of late but so much has gone on. Who knows if I will ever catch up... lets be honest here I dont have a lot of time. I am playing chase all day long with a toddler who seems to get herself in more trouble than I can keep up with. So lets just say I will do my very best to play a tiny bit of catch up, but for now lets just get reacquainted with one another.
This summer the Sargent house has been filled with swimming, vacations, and just plain enjoying the summer we have left. (I am already dreading the thought of winter... how do I keep a toddler busy?) Well, I am sure I will figure all that out as it comes. So enjoy the rest of your summer as we play catch up with you!






Saturday, March 3, 2012

Just registered.....


Yep... I just did it. I registered for my 1st full, 26.2 Marathon. I am a little bit nervous, but I know I can do anything if I set my mind to it. Last time I did a solo race was the SLC 1/2 Marathon. Which I loved! I was barely pregnant, so I held myself back a little. I am hoping to finish this first Marathon in under 4hrs. So who knows if I can hit that.... Lets just pray that I am in one piece at the end.... Does anyone have any advise for a first timer? I can use all the help I can get!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Sweet girl and her first Valentine...


Lula got her very first Valentine in February! 


Just opening the card... 

There he is! 

Giving tate kisses.... 

Just staring at her little man.... 

Thanks Tate for the cute Valentine... Lu loved looking at your picture more than even eating the sucker!
This was their very first meeting... they fell in love already!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Love....


I love when our eyes meet
across the messy,
toy-filled living room,
and we smile at each other
like we're the luckiest couple
in the world.........

Because we are.


I got all teary eyed after reading that. Lula we LOVE you!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Lula's Iphone....


Lula on 'Papas' ipad

No we didn't get our 14 month old an iPhone! That would be crazy, right?! Well, she just decided to take over mine. Everyday I find crazy pictures or videos that she takes. I just have to laugh.






She is so smart when it comes to this handy device of mine, I had to put a pass code on it. She would literally call Grandma CeCe 2 times a day, if not more. Of course CeCe loved it, but I had to put a stop to the random calls she not only would make to her but anyone in our phonebook! Little girl is so silly and sassy these days. Why didn't anyone tell me the terrible two's start at one?! Well, needless to say we still love our little girl! She is so hilarious, and most days I laugh at her all day long. She has been the greatest blessing in our lives. We are so happy to be her parents (although during the tantrums I would like to not acknowledge that this is the same little girl...). Honestly the cutest thing right now is her talking on the phone. She walks around the house with the phone up to her ear.... I cant stand it. So cute!! We love our chatter-box!




Saturday, February 11, 2012

Mission Call...






This darling kid.... some how turned into this man! 
Taige received his mission call 2 weeks ago. Most of you all know by now that is he is called to serve in the St. Louis, Missouri mission! Little factoid: Same Mission as Rand. We are so excited for him to serve for 2 years. He leaves March 14th. So he literally goes right away. We are going to miss him. Especially a little girl I know that just adores him.... 




She is his shadow, and studies his every move. Its pretty cute if I do say so myself. She completely lights up when she sees uncle, "age". We love Taige and know that he will make a missionary! He is one of the sweetest kids I know. He would do anything for almost anyone. We are most definitely excited to see and watch him grow over the next couple years. I know he will come back a stronger more amazing person than he already has become. We're excited to share in his experiences, more than anyone else in this is Rand. The second Taige was done looking at his mission call Rand picked it up and started to reminisce his mission. Few things have changed, which for Rand makes it exciting. I already gave him permission to pick him up. ha ha... We both know it crossed his mind multiple times that night. So no good-bye's yet.... thankfully! We still get to enjoy him before he leaves! So excited for you buddy, we love you!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Christmas: Playing Catch up




So, of course it's the end of January, and this is just getting on the blog. Shoot me: I am a mother of a toddler. A walking toddler to be exact. Certain things have just become perfect for her to reach now, so life has gotten even more busy than it was before those cute, chunky legs started to become mobile.

photo: Katie Oborn photography

Each year Rand and I seem to be busier with the Holiday season. Both of our families have great traditions that we love. The Nelson side of the family has homemade chicken noodle soup in bread bowls with rainbow Jello. It includes grandma, parents, and boys, which makes for awesome company. We have always opened christmas PJ's to sleep in along with an ornament on Christmas Eve. Then it's off to drive through the local Christmas lights, and a little festive movie. Need I say more?



Our Sargent side always has a huge spaghetti-fest. Anything you can think of going with this meal, let's just say it's there. Rand has a pretty large family (7 kids & 26 grandkids). When we get together there is always great company. After we eat, Gary and Mary Lynne (the all-wise parents) gather everyone around. We read the story of Jesus in the scriptures while singing christmas songs throughout the story. This is one of my favorite things about the Sargent tradition. They then hand out goodie bags for the grandkids. This is always a hoot. They always find great gifts that entertain the kiddos for hours.



So you can see why we are so busy. We tend to want to hit everything. By the end of the night we are wiped out. This year, of course, Lula was the center of attention. See, she is the 1st grand-baby on the Nelson side, and the 26th on the other. On both sides she is the star of the family. All the kids and uncles love entertaining her. It is fun to watch. Getting back to the story: the Nelson side wanted us to sleep over with our little movie star, and we agreed. So we hit the Sargent tradition, then made our way to the Nelson's. Once there we were wiped out. We did presents, ornaments, and went to the lights. This was especially fun. Papa Nelson drove the car through the lights and held Lula on his lap. Her face was priceless. First, getting to drive. Second, all the lights. We tried to get some shots of her face, and of course driving with Papa. Needless to say, it was too dark and she was just so excited that it wasn't possible.



That night Grandma and Uncle Taige wanted to both be in charge of little Lula. Of course Rand and I didn't protest that. She did wake up at 3am. Uncle Taige said she wouldn't give up and fall back asleep. So G-ma Nelson took her and watched Toy Story. Now, what little girl would want to go to sleep watching that?! Not Lula, that's for sure! At about 5:45 a.m. they both came into our room. Little girl was wide awake. It took a bit but Lula snuggled in and fell asleep.

We awoke that morning to Papa coming in to see little Lula in hopes of her being awake. She wasn't. Kid probably would have slept until 10:00 a.m. if we let her. So once everyone was up and ready we woke little girl up. Slowly. She is like her mother in this way.

Lula was super fun this year. She has some of the best facial expressions any kid I know can offer. She was very spoiled. One of the continuous loves is this rocker. Lula can spend hours rocking on this if you let her. Oh and you must help her push the buttons, otherwise you just hear "uh, uh, uh, uh!" She can't figure out how to push the buttons hard enough for the music to start playing. Funny girl. She loves it. She has also loved her books she got. Cute girl loves to read. That is her Dad. They are both cute little book worms.




Another tradition in the Nelson clan comes after all the presents are unwrapped. We make ebelskivers. This comes from our Danish family history. I can't even tell you how many generations have been doing this. I hear more and more families have started this, which is great! Every Christmas morning I think of all the generations before us, who have sat together as a family and enjoyed this. I think that is best part. Lula really liked them, which just makes her my daughter. She especially loves them with butter and sugar on the inside, which is my favorite way to eat them. I forgot to get a picture of them: ugh. I will be better about taking pictures.

Overall we were extremely grateful for the many thoughtful presents we received. Not only presents, but the gift of the Savior. This is always something I need to remind myself of, especially at this time of year. It's not about the lights, presents, or how pretty your tree is. It really is about Him. His amazing birth. Amazing life. Amazing lessons that were taught. The fondest memories of Christmas as a kid, are those where we helped another family in need. I can recall so many times getting to go shopping, and being able to deliver those. That feeling is incredible. This is what Christmas is about. Service. Helping one another. This is something if I forget, He finds ways of reminding me. I appreciate this. As a parent I hope to teach Lula and our future children to give to others. To be of service. That would be the greatest gift as a parent. We are so thankful, and our hearts our full.



Here are some other pictures we had from the holidays. Thank you family and friends who were so sweet to us this year. Especially little Lula.
Lula and her Cousin Meg

Lula and another cousin Jack
This is Lula meeting Santa this year..... he was a HIT...Not


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Lula Birthday


This little stinker turned One on December, 8th. Boy how the times flies. We had a fun party with family and friends. Lula got some great gifts, all of which were so nice for them to give her. Some aren't pictured but she made out like a bandit (not pictured: building blocks, darling book, a teddy bear, a fun button game.... and I hope that is all). 


She got this activity center... which she loves. Notice her 'cheese' smile. 


Miss Lula and her Uncle Taige. 

Her puppy. It teaches her to clap and dance... both of which she has down thanks to him.

Below is a play by play of her getting her first baby doll. She was so excited!









She also got her first soccer ball. She loved it. Still doesn't get the concept of kicking the ball. 


At her party I (along with her Aunt Amy) made these darling sugar cookies with polka dots on them. I had all my money betting that she would destroy them. I lost. She was completely dainty about it. Funny girl.





Over all the party was a hit. I forgot to take pictures of the set up..... ugh. It was all polka dots. So happy that its over. She isn't walking yet, which I can't figure out if that is good or bad. Either way she is close to doing it but just a little reserved. We love out little Lula-mon as Papa calls her. So happy that we have her in our lives. We cannot believe its already been a year since she entered our family. We can't imagine life without her. Happy Birthday Little Lula!!!