Christmas

Nigel's new favorite thing is standing against things, such as the couch.

Christmas for our family happened in Kaysville this year. Nigel had a lot of fun with his aunts and uncles and grandparents. Nigel got to meet his new little cousin, Rachel. And she is so cute. Nigel had fun poking her in the face.

Nigel was sad after I took his hand out of Rachel's face. He just wanted to keep poking her.

Daniel, Nigel, and Ross on Christmas morning.

Nigel had a lot of fun seeing all the brightly colored gifts he got.

Nigel loves to chew on remotes. This is his first ever Christmas present, and it was from his Aunt Leslie.

Ya, now Nigel can rock the musical world with his new xylaphone!

Nigel began dancing around the 23rd. He hears a beat and he just has to boogie. This table toy thing was his favorite to dance to.

I got an iPhone. I am so excited because now I can have all my color guard music on it. No more phone and iPod, got them both together now.

Ross got a Monopoly game, which he collects those things. But I didn't get any pictures of Ross. Poor Ross.

Thank you, Santa!

Grandpa loves his little grandbaby boy!

Baby Rachel! My very first ever niece through blood. She's so adorable!

Nigel Meets Santa

Last Friday we had our ward Christmas party. It was super duper fun. Nigel got to meet Santa for the first time. It didn't go over so well. He freaked out, then noticed the shiny, jingly bells in Santa's hand and was totally fascinated. Then he looked at Santa again and got all freaked out again. Poor kid. Here's a picture of Nigel with Santa.

Band Trip Anyone?

Nigel and I had the fun opportunity to go on a band trip with the Mountain Crest band on the first weekend in November. We traveled to St. George. I was slightly surprised that I was not as excited for a band trip as I was in high school. I must be growing up. Or maybe I was just nervous about having Nigel the whole time. Whatever.

Nigel and I on the bus and all ready to leave!

The trip went really well. On Thursday, the first, we headed out in the morning and stopped for rehearsal at Viewmont High School. We had a spectacular rehearsal and got tons of stuff accomplished. It was awesome. Then we got back to the buses and headed on our merry way all the way down to St. George. Nigel was very sick of the bus ride by the end of the day. Me too. The Seniors and staff members all got to go out to eat at the Pizza Factory, and it was awesome.

Nigel and I hanging out while the trailer gets unloaded. Then the rehearsal will begin!

Hooray for marching band!

Nigel really loves all the people at band. He gets so excited around those guys!

You really get this whole bed to yourself, Mama?

Day two was Friday. Since that comes after Thursday. We got up and headed North to Southern Utah University where the kids got a tour of campus. Nigel and I just hung out in a common area. Then we had a rehearsal on their field. And it was another spectacular rehearsal! It was awesome. After the rehearsal we got a buffet meal on campus and it was delicious. That evening we had the Red Rocks Band Invitational competition at Dixie State College. My awesome sauce Dad was down by then so he took Nigel and they played the whole competition. Nigel loves his grandpa! The band did fantastic! We didn't place, but I didn't care because it was their most amazing show yet!

Nigel was so happy to play with his grandpa!

Nigel fell asleep with his hearing protection ear muffs. And that is Angie, who is the drum major. She conducts the music for the whole band. She's my buddy because she's awesome. Oh, and she adores Nigel.

Nigel and I found Leslie! Yes, the Davis High Band was there too.

Saturday was the Bands Of America Regional competition. And that is kind of a big deal. Preliminary competitions took place in the morning and afternoon, finals in the evening. The top ten bands in prelims make it to finals. Those Mountain Crest kids did freaking amazing! Their show was beautiful and incredible and I am so proud of them. It was so spectacular and definitely their best show ever! Unfortunately, we did not make it to the top ten. We were number 11! It was really frustrating. Most of the students were crying and I got to help calm them down. They really had a fantastic show so it was hard that they didn't make it to finals. However, band number 10 only beat  us by 0.2 points! Holy moly. That was ridiculous. But that's ok. Nigel again got to spend most of the day with his grandpa who took him shopping and to play at his hotel. What a wonderful grandpa Nigel has!

Getting ready for one last pep-talk before heading out for the competition.

"I'm so happy to play with Grandpa Bredthauer all day!"

Saturday was sure one long, exhausting, band-filled day!

This is one of our backdrops. They go on the back of the field and the color guard hides behind them when they change equipment or their uniform. I want this one to put on my wall at home. :)

Me and Nigel, who is making a funny face as usual. He got that new hat when he was shopping with my dad.

After the competition we drove strait home all through the night. We arrived in Hyrum at 4:40 Sunday morning. Then I got to wake up Ross and have him come pick up Nigel and I. Nigel did so good on the bus ride home, he was exhausted so he slept the whole ride back.

It was such a wonderful band trip and a fantastic end to a awesome season. Hooray for Mountain Crest!

A Quick Catch-Up

So I have not fasted since I got pregnant with Nigel due to the fact that I was pregnant, and then breast feeding. Yesterday was my first time fasting in over a year. And it was surprisingly fantastic. I really did not miss fasting at all when I wasn't fasting, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to fast today. I've just felt really happy and quite spiritually fed. So you should fast, because fasting is great!

On another note: I love super heroes. And superhero movies. So naturally, when Ross buys me three fish they will be named after characters from a movie. In this case, they were Odin, Thor, and Loki. Odin and Thor only survived a day. I guess that means that Loki is the champion. Well, actually he's the God of Mischief, and that might explain why the other fishes died. Here's a picture of my fish's namesake, Loki, who can be found in the movies Thor, and The Avengers. And Loki the fish is still swimming around all happy.

Nigel is totally rocking the sitting up now, I am so proud of that kid. Saturday we had an all day band rehearsal and Nigel was totally great the whole time. He was never fussy, even though it was cold and I carried him around in my front carrier the whole time. Here's a picture from that.

Marching band is going well for the most part. I really love working with those kids. We had the Davis Cup competition last night. We got fifth place overall. Not too bad, but the scores kind of were terrible. It is hard to get these wonderful teenagers to work harder. Half of my guard is intensely hard workers, the other half don't really care, and the good half is getting frustrated. Me too. Our next competition is a week from Saturday. And we've got lots of work to do for that. 

Band Camp 2012

I freaking love that I am the color guard instructor at Mountain Crest. I freaking love those kids. It is so fun to help them learn and grow together.
Band camp happened the first week of August. It was fantastic. We get to go down to Snow College and sleep in furnished apartments and use a pretty nice field and occasionally the football field. We're down there for six days and this year we got the entire show set on the field. We only have have the choreography, but the rest should be coming any day now from the choreographer. Woot. Here's some pictures to entertain you.

These goofy kids are the reason that I spend so much time away from home. I love those guys.

Me and the weapon line after a little sectional.

Rifles.

Some of the flags. 

There's Lexi, as Carmen. She causes all sorts of mayhem through the show. Be prepared.

Nigel was very happy for band camp to be over. Thank you Mom for coming down to help me with him.

There's my kids. And what good kids they are too.

And I would like to give a big thanks to Carmelle for taking these pictures that I stole from your Facebook album. :)

Cameras

It is so hard to keep a blog updated when one does not have the internet in their home. I really would love to blog a whole lot more, but I'm not on the internet too often anymore. Lame sauce.
Anyway, I have a really bad habit of dropping cameras. When Ross and I were first married, we had a Bateman family awesome party down by Zions National Park. I took great pictures the whole time, then at the end, I dropped my camera on the road and it broke. Wouldn't take pictures, but it could still take videos.
December that year Ross and I went with my parents and siblings to California. First day down there, I had Ross's camera in my pocket and jumped up onto Ross's back. Camera fell out and broke. It was stuck on the video setting and wouldn't go to normal picture mode no matter how hard I tried.
So then, we have this awesome Ross family reunion in Moab about a month ago. (Ross's mom's maiden name was Ross, hence my husband's name.) We go to Arches National Park. And it was beautiful and all that awesome stuff. I was feeding Nigel in my father-in-law's truck. When I was done I hopped out of the truck. Didn't realize I had set  our new camera we got for Christmas. Ya, it fell down onto the road. And I heard it hit. And then I swore. Ross busted out laughing. Fortunately the camera was working for the rest of the trip, except that the delete button and the video button did not work. Whatever, I just wanted to take pictures. So a week after we get home it just dies. I charged it all up and when I turn it on it says 'battery exhausted.' Stupid camera. Stupid me for always dropping those things. It really sucks.

And that is my sad story. But here's a cute picture of my little family taken at the family reunion in Moab.

A Little Distraught

So my lovely laptop computer may be dead now. I got it from Santa in 2008. Yesterday I went to the library, where I always go to use the internet since my neighbors got a secure connection, and the computer shut itself down and wouldn't turn back on. Gah! I was still able to get on the library computers, but what about all the stuff on that computer? I have a ton of pictures on there of little Nigel that I haven't put on a thumb drive yet. Poo. Who know's what will happen to all my stuff on there? I have tons of color guard things there..... I'm just a little bit a lot freaked out about it.

Good Times

Just a quick picturesque update on life in the Bateman home!

Ross and Nigel, chatting it up. 

Nigel, chillin' on the changing table. What a hunk!

Nigel, in a wonderful new outfit! So handsome and ready for church.

Oh, hello shirtless baby! How are you?

Nigel and I spend so much time together. We are pretty good friends these days.

"CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUS!" Nigel's uncle Daniel designed that lovely onesie.

Nigel is getting really good at holding up his head. This picture was taken two days before he rolled over for the first time.

Nigel sleeping in a onesie designed by his Grandpa Bredthauer.

Nigel is lucky to have such talented relatives. Here he is in a onesie designed by his Aunt Sarah and Uncle Andrew. It is Hawaii's state fish. I will not attempt to spell the name.

Nigel, super ready for church in this onesie dedicated to his Uncle Matt who is serving a mission in Colorado. Nigel sure was adorable at church in this outfit!

Nigel, chatting it up with me. He says "Nnnnguh!" and also "Agoo!" and we have great conversations.

Nigel in another adorable onesie, this one designed by his Aunt Leslie.

And Then He Smiled

And now Nigel is smiling! It definitely makes it easier to deal with the crying.

Dreams Do Come True

So I got a call a few weeks back from the band director at Mountain Crest. Lo and behold! I am now the Color Guard Director/Instructor!!! I haven't posted about it yet because it wasn't being announced until this past Monday. And then I was busy with Nigel and band practices all week. And it was most fantastical!!! Nigel got to come to rehearsals with me, he was ok when he was in the carrier just leaning against my chest. What a snuggly baby. :)
I've got some great ideas for the color guard this year and I really think the kids will be super successful! I'm so excited!

Nigel Rocks

Last night I fed Nigel at 9:30 and tried to get him to bed. He did not want to go to bed until 11:30. That's fine since he wasn't screaming the whole time. And then, the amazing boy slept all the way to 4:30 in the AM! That's the longest he's gone through the night. And the longest he's slept consecutively ever. I'm so proud! Hopefully this means he will be sleeping through the night in the somewhat near future. Ya, I went to bed at 11 and Ross stayed up with Nigel. I feel like I got so much darn sleep! Sleeping for 5 and a half hours in a row? I haven't done that since Nigel got here. It was most fantastic. :)

On another note, I had my very first Mother's Day to celebrate a week ago yesterday. It was pretty nice. Nothing too spectacular. I got a chocolate bar at church, which was awesome. And then I got another chocolate bar from Nigel! Nigel also gave me a pair of lavender saphire earrings. They are totally gorgeous! I need to get a beautiful lavender dress to match and then go somewhere classy. And Ross, my magnificent husband, got me a gift certificate to the Lelani Salon and Spa. Now I can get my first ever professional massage! I've always wanted one of those. My boys are such thoughtful little lads. :)

Nigel's Blessing

Yesterday, the 6th of May, my dear son Nigel received his baby blessing. It was given by his father, Ross. And it was most excellent. :) Nigel wore the blessing outfit that Ross was blessed in. And it was even the outfit that Ross's dad, Todd, was blessed in. And I thought that it was an awesome little heirloom for Nigel to wear. It comes from the 1940's. Dude. Nigel sure was cute in it. I love that little boy! Oh, also, those adorable booties were made by my Aunt Debbie, who is awesome. :)