Happy Half Birthday!!!!

Christian turn six months old on Saturday. I can't believe is that old. July or August, Christian should be finalized. We are just waiting for one more document to be done and then he can be finalized. This document is the father search in Alabama. Alabama was suppose to have the document to us in 30 day but it has been like sixty so far. It is so frustrating how Alabama's human services takes so long to get things done.

We are so glad to have Christian in our family. He has brought a lot of joy to our lives. Chris and I can't imagine our life with out him. We just love to watch him do new things. Chris's favorite part of the day is when he comes home and gets to play with his son. I just have been in heaven since school got out because now I get to spend my whole day with Christian. Here are some of the things Christian is doing:

• He likes us to help him stand at the coffee table so he can throw everything off it.
  
• He likes to grab on to the bar of the swing and stop it. ( I'm sad about this because he no longer likes the swing).
• He walks in a walker.
• He can get on his hands and knees.
• He can lift his toy mobile off the ground.
  

Here are some pictures of Christian's life so far:

Meeting Christian For The First Time.

A Couple Weeks Old!

One Month Old!

Two Months Old!

Three Months Old!

Four Months Old!

Five Months Old!

Six Months Old!

Utah Summer Games: Table Tennis

Last weekend, Heather and I went to Southern Utah so we could be with family and so I could play table tennis in the Utah Summer Games. I figured that I would just go down and get clobbered, and then have fun watching the good players duke it out for the medals. Well, the night before tournament started, I checked the rules and noticed there would be divisions based on skill. This made me happy, because at least I would get a chance to play people with whom I would be competitive. In the tournament we first played a preliminary ladder to determine your division and then we played a round robin with everyone in our division. Each match was best 3 out of 5 games I started the tournament out playing a middle aged guy whom I had seen at the "Club" before. When I had watched him previously, he seemed pretty good, and I figured my initial impression of agonizing defeat were going to be made apparent after all. I lost the first game, but felt I had a fighting chance. The next game went my way, and created some confidence for me. I built on that confidence and won the next 2 games. Next, I played another middle aged gentlemen who, I knew after warming up, was much more skilled than my first opponent. I fought hard but ended up losing 3 games to none, though I did make the last game close. I ended up in the "B" division, with there being Open, A, B, and C divisions played. I ended up playing a young but very skilled kid named Austin Gridley. I defeated Austin the last time I played him, but only by a narrow margin. He put the pressure on me early by winning the first game. I think this set me off though because I won the next three games and the match. I lost to a skilled player named Matt Pugmire, I wasn't even close to winning. I was surprised to find out later, however, that Matt lost to Austin. Because I lost another match in the division besides my loss to Matt, I ended up taking 3rd place. This really seemed odd to me because I was the only one to defeat Austin, but both Austin and Matt only had 1 loss, so they finished a head of me. All in all it was a good experience and I plan on playing again next year.

Got Fish?

Last night for family home evening we went to Vernon Reservoir to go fishing. All three of us liked Vernon Reservoir better than Settlement Reservoir. I liked it better because it was easier to walk down to the shore and was easy to walk around. Chris liked it better because there was actually fish jumping and he caught a fish. The only drawback is that it is about a 45-50 minute drive from where we live. It is really pretty. Here are some pictures:

The sunset was so beautiful that I had to take pictures of it.

Chris Fly Fishing

I loved the color of the water during the sunset.

Christian watching his dad fish. He has become best buds with his dad. He can now say "dad". It is so cute. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. I got to go before I start crying.

Christian's buddies

This is Megan my play date on Tuesdays

My mom, Jenny, Lincoln, and me. Lincoln is only two weeks younger than me.

Meeting my cousin Logan. Logan is two months older than me

Cowboy Christian

Cowboy Logan

Cowboy Nathan

Ryan the Rabbit, Nathan the Lion, and Jaron the Elephant.

Playing with the Sheriff's car. Boy, I bet the Sheriff is going to be mad when he finds out!!!

Updates on Christian

I like my blanket and my thumb when I get tired!

I'm getting so big!

Playing in the saucer

Luke, I won't let you fall!

Getting our picture taken.

Look who can sit up now!

Look out, here comes trouble!!

cute pictures of Christian

Laying on Grandma's bed.

Getting ready for bed at Grandma's house. I love my baths at her house.

Jumping with uncle Greg. I really like the high jumps.

Uncle Greg is my buddy!

My first attempts at real food. Grandma told my mom to feed me vegetables first and then fruits next. But grandma gave in to me when I was wanting the watermelon. I loved every minute of it.

A closer picture of me eating watermelon

Passed 070-290

Today I took and passed Microsoft exam 070-290. This was after a delay caused by an issue with the NDA(Non Disclosure Agreement: a legal document saying you won't tell others exact details or questions on the exam, supposedly maintains the integrity of the credential, but I know there is plenty of cheating going on out there)timing out on me. The testing center called Prometric and got the appointment reset but it was really interesting. Its almost as if they don't want you to read the agreement. The only reason that I read it was because sometimes you are prompted to indicate that you have read and agreed. I think it would make more sense if you could read the agreement before scheduling the exam, then you could do it on your own time without being nervous or rushed. I honestly don't think that most people read those things anyway. I suppose I am strange in doing so. The test seemed difficult yet passable. At the end I wasn't sure if I passed or not but ended up with a 771/900, where 700 is the passing score. Not pretty but passing is nice. Greg, Heather's brother came and helped with Christian while I took the test. Heather just had surgery Monday and I suppose I should have done a blog about that, however I was just too busy changing diapers and getting things for both Heather and Christian, that I barely had time to study let alone post to the blog. I have a goal of completing the remaining four exams for MCSE(Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) by the end of 2008. There is going to be an opening with my company somewhere around the end of the year for a Desktop Support Tech, and I definitely want to have a shot at it.