Mr. Smarty Pants

Hiram has solved the Rubik's Cube. After so much blood, sweat, and tears (or at least a lot of really late nights), he has come out victorious. A lifetime dream has been fulfilled. What next? Probably a shower.

Bethany's Favorite Things

Bethany is starting to show her personality. Here are some of her favorite things to do:

Go to church. And she loves to "participate." Daddy has to take her out when she gets too vocal!

Go on walks with Mommy. She's probably used to it from all the walking Mommy did while pregnant with her.

Play the piano. She's pretty good!

Take baths. She splashes a TON, and Mommy usually ends up pretty wet!

...but she hates getting out of the tub...

Daddy love.

Show off her big smile. This one's for daddy.

Stare at the camera when I try to take a picture of her.

Eat Mommy's hair. She'll put just about anything into her mouth!

...including her animal friends...

Look into the mirror. Who's that cute baby?

Tummy time? Maybe not one of her favorites, but she's starting to tolerate it better.

Baby yoga on the changing table. Look who's found her toes! By the way, diaper changes are another favorite of hers. She does an excited kicking dance whenever we do it. Really, who doesn't like a clean bottom?

"Let's Go Fly a Babe", to the tune of "Let's Go Fly a Kite." This sometimes ends badly for Mommy when Bethany spits up at just the right moment.

Raise your hand if you're cute.

Happy Halloween!

Boo!!!

We did some pumpkin carving with our neighbors Colby and Ashley. Ours was a Bethany Pumpkin, complete with binky and ears that stick out.

Which one is the real pumpkin?

Bethany in her pumpkin outfit made by Liz. We had trouble posing for this one.

A Busy Girl

Bethany has already met many of her crazy relatives from all over. She's been one busy little girl! Here are some of our pictures.

A proud Grandma Marge at the hospital. This is her 23rd grandchild, we think!

Grandpa Thornton and a tired Hiram at the hospital

Uncle Thomas, Hiram, Bethany in her papoose (knitted by Hiram!) and Aunt Martha

The Thornton siblings plus spouses and children, about 10 days after Bethany was born. They were all in Utah for a family reunion.

Bethany's Great Uncle Rob, from Idaho, stopped by and ate dinner with us. It was great to see him! And Uncle John and soon-to-be Aunt Amy came too. A good time was had by all. This was about the end of August.


Grandpa Corson flew out for Bethany's baby blessing. You can tell from this picture that they got along just great! He got to see some of her "Big Smiles"- and, to be honest, he heard some of her big screams too! But at least they weren't during her blessing.

At Uncle Sam's house with Grandma Corson (and John and Amy, not in this picture). The delicious dinner is also not pictured, but boy was it good!

We visited Bethany's GREAT Grandma Rose in Declo, ID. It was GREAT to see her! And she sent us home with some apples from her very own trees!

Also, Liz's brother Rob came out from Virginia, but Liz didn't whip out her camara quickly enough. He offered some helpful hairstyling advice on dealing with Bethany's natural mullet. He recommends a rat tail. We'll think about it:)

Special Delivery!

The most major event of the year happened July 22: our new baby was born. Her name is Bethany Marie, and she was born right on her due date. This may mean she's going to be time-conscious just like her daddy! And boy is she cute! She was 7 lbs, and 19 inches long. We hadn't found out her sex until she was born, and when he saw her, Hiram proudly announced, "Liz, we're mommies! I mean, we're girls! I mean, it's a girl!" Thus was her entry into this world.

Our little cone head. What a wonderful sight after 16 hours of labor!

Liz, meet Bethany. Love at first sight.

Hiram and Bethany at the hospital.

This photo is of her at about 6 weeks, showing off her nice big smile.

We're learning about the parenting thing gradually, and we're enjoying it. Bethany has started sleeping through the night, which makes us happier parents too. She awes us with her big smile, baby talk, and her wiggles, especially during diaper changes and baths. We basically adore her!

Torreon, Cuahuila, Mexico

To celebrate our graduation, and to take our last big vacation for a while (with a baby on the way in two months), we took a trip to Mexico, where Hiram served his mission. It was so much fun! We saw many of the people Hiram had known back in 2002-2004 when he was last there. The people were so friendly and kind to us. And we saw the cheapest hotels we've ever seen! One was about $9/night. That one also looked like it might fall down any minute, so we decided the price was about what it was worth and decided not to stay there! And the bus system, though there were some scary drivers, was quite amazing- we used it to get just about everywhere!

This is a church built at the top of a huge mountain. It's quite a hike. And we weren't dressed in our "Sunday clothes" either!

Here we were at the top of another huge mountain, where there's a huge statue of Christ- El Cristo de las Noas. And a beautiful view. And many dogs.

Now We're Edumacated

We meant to get a professional picture taken of both of us in our graduation outfits, but it just never happened. This is the best we could do. Now we can finally put away those hats!

In May, Hiram and Liz graduated! Liz got her Masters in Nursing from the U of U, and Hiram got his his RN associates from Weber State! We were both so glad to be done. And we really don't miss it. It's wonderful not to have projects brewing and clinicals to attend. Although Hiram is back at- he's now at the U, working on his BSN. So there are more projects on the way for him. And Liz is pretty sure she's NEVER going back to school again!