For Grandma P, With Love <3

Deer Grandma Petramalo,
I mis You so much. I am sAd thet yoU dont git to sea All the New thiNgs I learn to dO each Day. so I had Mommy take loTs off pituRes so I Cood show you wUt a big boy i am! I cant' wate to sea You in a munth! i hope you injoy thEse pitures i Took 'specialy four you. show them tO Grampa and aunt Mary and Aunt Alli and Uncle StepHen and Uncle uncle Uncle Tommy two.

i Grewed teetH all by mySelf

i can pLay in thu Top of my exersaucer and in the bOttom uf It!
I can hold One toy in my moUth While i hold another toy in My hAnd

I caN wake uP with cool haredoos

i Am a BuddiNg GymNast
I helP mommy in the kichin...wut wood She do Without mE??
im jUst perty dang CUTE!
Luv yoU Grandma! MuaH!
Luv, Yur favorIte Grandson :)

HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY LOVE!

Last Wednesday was my favorite person in the whole world's 24th birthday! But he was gone cross country skiiiiing all day so we just did something small and celebrated big on Saturday! Special thanks to all those who came and made it fun! It was a lot of fun and it was great seeing Kiel's friends again. We played Mario Party, Killer bunnies, ate pizza, and my favorite- talked a lot! Yay for another year of studying, babies, I mean Caleb, stressing, homework, resume builders, traveling, and L-O-V-E! Yes, it will be great.

HaPpY bIrThDaY sWeEtHeArT!

Japan- Here we come!

After several months of nerve-racking anticipation, we finally received THE email. WE ARE GOING TO JAPAN!!! Can I just say we are so excited?!?! Kiel was accepted to an internship to Matsumoto, Japan where he will be writing for a newspaper for 3 months this summer. He will be writing one article a week on pretty much any topic. We will also have a VIP pass to all the cultural events so that he can write on those.
It is quite an accomplishment that he got the internship; he is the first full American to be accepted for the internship. All the others have been at least part Japanese. He is also the first married applicant to be accepted. But what can I say? They'd be crazy not to take such a smart, talented, Japanese-speaking writer! And Kiel has really wanted to go back to Japan since he finished serving his mission there 3 years ago. I'm so excited to go and experience it with him! Too bad I don't like seafood or asian food.
Matsumoto is kinda in the middle of Japan and, like the rest of Japan, is very green and pretty! We have spent the past few weeks googling every picture available on Matsumoto. Here is a picture of a famous castle in Matsumoto:
So the next few months are going to be very busy for us! However, I think the most difficult thing for me will be to decide what few things I can't live without for 3 months....I only get to take 2 bags!! I take 2 bags when I'm going to AZ for a week!
But I'm so excited for this adventure that we get to take this summer and I am so so grateful for a husband who works so hard to excel in everything he does so we get to have these opportunities. He is truly my hero!

25 Random Things About Gretchen Petramalo Willmore

I have been tagged for this thing at least 23 times so on this day of boredom I am going to fill it out. I guess I tag all of you so if you were just dying to fill it out here's your opportunity to jump on the bandwagon with the millions of others who have already done so. I look forward to reading yours!~*~

1. When I was little I wanted to have 12 children. Now that I have one I want even more than that!
2. I sold my first art piece when I was 10 to my uncle for $100. It was a charcoal drawing of Goofy.
3. I love to sing more than anything in the world but you can not pay me enough to sing a solo. However, if there was a second person singing with me I would happily sing at the next presidential inauguration.
4. I have already designed my future house and it includes an indoor basketball court because I like watching basketball...but Kiel vetoed that idea when I told him about it last week...
5. I got my Associates degree when I was 18.
6. I love the sun and hate the snow. My ideal afternoon includes soaking up sun and sipping lemonade.
7. I was officially (on a knee with a ring) proposed to twice before I said YES!!! to Kiel.
8. When I was younger my family would spend 3 or 4 months during the summer traveling and I can't wait till Kiel and I can to do that with our family!
9. I have moved 7 times during my life.
10. I dropped out of highschool my junior year.
11. I have never cussed in my life.
12. I am deathly afraid of the ocean. I will only go waist deep and that's still freaky.
13. When I chose my major my only demand was that I didn't have to take math for it. So I ended up doing linguistics.
14. I used to be a ballerina. For a year.
15. I have started writing two books and one day at least one will be published.
16. The thing I hate doing most is cleaning the kitchen. I'd rather clean the bathroom.
17. I am OCD about making the bed in the morning.
18. If I could go back and change my major I would major in interior design.
19. My favorite TV show is American Idol and my favorite TV show to watch with Caleb is Arthur.
20. I am a huge PHX Suns fan...but I'm trying to switch over to the Jazz...Its a hard transition.
21. I want a great pyranees when I grow up and Kiel wants a min schnauzer. My dog will eat his dog for a snack.
22. I have never watched an R-rated movie in my life.
23. I have found out I'm not very republican but I'm DEFINITELY not democrat and will never be...so I guess I'm part of the opinionated political group of 1.
24. I switch between ultra health food conscious and a junk-food junkie about every 3 weeks.
25. We have saved approximately $140 since we got married by me cutting Kiel's hair.

yEsTeRdAyS DiSaStEr

I have a story that should make all of you feel so much better about yourselves! hahaha. So I have been contemplating cutting some swoopy bangs. I've had them several times before and I just think they look better on me than otherwise. So yesterday I felt ready for the change and I was trying to decide how I was going to cut them b/c I have always done it one way and it has turned out great everytime but I was watching my friend cut her bangs and she did it this other way so I tried that. What a mistake! A) They were not long and swoopy...they were too short! B) They were crooked!!! HAHAHAHA At first I was horrified and speechless and then I just broke down laughing. It reminded me of a time when I was about 5 and my mom cut my hair crooked like 20 times and I ended up having a crooked boy haircut that scarred me for life. Well luckly this was only my bangs and my hair grows pretty fast. At the end of the day I was ALMOST glad it had happened...it was kind of a downer day but then I could think of my bangs and laugh in spite of myself! It was pretty sad and terrific. So I will be sporting various renditions of this hair-do until my bangs grow out a little and can swoop more to the side:
HAHAHA! So laugh! Because I'm pretty sure you don't have short, crooked bangs! :-)

The greatest thing in the whole wide world

Although every woman has the potential to be a mother, Motherhood is the most unique experience in the world. With a baby comes extremes in every area: alertness and sleepiness, happiness and sadness, joy and pain (excruciating pain), ups and downs. But at the end of every day most mothers would say that not only is it all worth it, being a mother is the greatest thing and they wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm one of those moms. Lately I have been experiencing the extremes in several of those areas, especially the sleepiness and alertness ones--but mostly just sleepy. Caleb has a bad cold and I guess it got worse yesterday because he fell asleep at 7:30 and Kiel and I went to bed at 10:30. Caleb has been doing really good with sleeping during the night lately but last night he started crying at 11:45. So I went in and fed him and he fell back asleep but woke up again 2 hours later. It is always so much harder to get up the second time for some reason! So I was grumbling and moaning as I went in to see what was wrong and I pulled him out of bed and took him in to sleep in our bed. His nose was so clogged though that he was breathing out of his mouth and it was giving him a sore throat I'm sure. To make a long night short, he didn't sleep at all. At about 3:30 I got up and changed his diaper and fed him again but he was wide awake! And I wanted to die! I was sooo exhausted. So I pulled out some of his books and rocked and read to him for a little while. And as I was reading to him he kept trying to flip the pages with his chubby hands and I just felt so grateful right then that I had such a cute little baby that I could read stories to in the middle of the night. I was still so tired but I can honestly say I was happier rocking my baby and reading to him than I would have been sound asleep in my bed. His chubby little hands and smile as if nothing were wrong or out of the ordinary made that very long night so worth it. However, I am glad to say that a little while later Kiel came and took a turn with him. Now that I've gone about 36 hrs with very minimal sleep (yes my eyes are stinging as I'm blinking at this fuzzy screen) I can still say that I love my sweet baby more than ever and there is NOTHING I would rather be doing with my life right now than being his mommy. There is just something so sweet and helpless and heavenly about a baby that is completely not of this world and I am so blessed that I get to feel that in my home and in my life everyday.

Once Upon A Time...

There was a little girl named Gretchen and she lived in a little place far far away called Rexburg Idaho. Most of the time this little girl would climb trees, chase chickens, ride horses or do various other activities that were abundant on a farm, but every now and then she would play with her favorite friend in the whole wide world, Jenna. Time flew by and before long the little girls were all grown up and moved away with little babies of their own. But neither time nor distance could keep the two best friends from seeing eachother periodically. Today the two girls met up at the Gateway in SLC and, call it what you will...a playdate, a therapy session, a girl's day out with the babies...had a blast and created memories of laughing, shopping, getting lost, and bonding. Because no matter how much time passes, no matter how much distance lies between the girls, they will always remain best friends.. Because true friends are always there, no matter what. And who knows, maybe Gretchen's little Caleb and Jenna's little Brynn will find more than friendship far in the future and then we'll have even more reasons to get together!

CaLeB aNd BrYnN

Baby Einstein

So can you tell I get a little bored?? haha yeah i've overloaded on posts lately but Caleb is so cute and is growing up so fast! So I thought I'd share some things he's learned to do lately.

He learned how to play "patty cake"...such a natural!

He's learning how to sleep better! He slept 8 hrs last night! But in this picture he fell asleep in his highchair while I was feeding him.

He can hold his own bottle now and he loves it!

My baby's all grown up and safe in China! Well...maybe...we'll still letcha know on that...and its Japan not China. Please refer to Mulan to make sense of the quote that I just butchered.

Fun Misc.

Here are some pics of other fun things we did while in AZ for Christmas. Notice how the weather is still beautiful outside?? Thats the way I like it!

Caleb helped Mary with her work...at least went along for the ride

Played with Grampa


Played with his new cousin Heiders

Got our pictures taken

Played Golf...this is a very typical picture of my parents...all lovey dovey

His form looks good huh?

Played in the bath with Kaylynners

Uncle Tommy holding all of his nieces and nephew

Going for a ride on a surf board thingy...I'm pretty sure it broke shortly after this pic was taken

Jumped on the tramp

Kissing cousins!

So we obviously had so much fun and can't wait to go back! Preferably when it is 80 degrees like when we were there rather than 180 degrees like it is in the summer. Yup it was beautiful and we had so much fun!!

~*~SuPErsTaR!~*~

My sis in law Natalie got a new camera for Christmas so she wanted to take some pictures of Caleb. She did a little photoshop magic and they turned out so cute! Isn't he so adorable??? Don't you just want to kiss those fat cheeks???!!! I know, he should be a model and make us millions. Its so cute how he knows when his picture is being taken...he looks right at the camera and smiles! haha. Good job Nat! :)

a LiTtLE sUrvEy

I got this from my sis in law Mindy and I enjoyed reading about her so I thought I'd do it too! If any of you want to copy and put it on your blog I would enjoy reading yours too :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? Which time? 5:40, 6:30, 7:45...

2. Diamonds or pearls? I love them both

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Bolt

4. What is your favorite TV show? Probably King of Queens...or Rachel Ray

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Oatmeal with lots of blueberries!! Or Quaker oatmeal squares...Mmmm!

6. What is your middle name? Ann

7. What food do you dislike?Anything with mayo

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I've been sucked into the Regina Spektor fan circle

9. What kind of car do you drive? Lexus

10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey with avocado and sprouts!

11. What characteristic do you despise? ditsy-ness when its a little extreme

12. Favorite item of clothing? I'll have to second mindy on this one...lingerie is pretty great.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I'll say New Zealand

14. Favorite brand of clothing? I dunno...I like forever 21

15. Where would you retire to? hmmm I'll have to get some ideas from kiel on that one

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? My last birthday...my husbands so great!

17. Favorite sport to watch? BBALL as long as the Suns or Jazz are playing...wait, maybe volleyball is my favorite...I'll have to put some serious thought into that one.

18. Person you love most in the world? My hubby and then Caleb of course

19. Describe yourself in 2 words? Not ditsy :)

20. When is your birthday? July 31st

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Definitely a night person

22. What is your shoe size? 7-7.5

23. Pets? None right now but I would love a dog and some horses again...too bad kiel's allergic

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Being a mom is the greatest thing in the world!! I love it!! And we might go to Japan this summer...I'll keep ya'll posted on that one.

25. What did you want to be when you were little? Vet, artist, singer, but mostly a mom

26. How are you today? a little bored

27. What is your favorite candy? laffy taffy and chocolate

28. What is your favorite flower? I love lilies and roses

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Feb. 14th :)

30. What is your favorite pastime? singing and playing the piano or reading

31. What are you listening to right now? Caleb choking...probably on a hairball

32. What was the last thing you ate? smarties

33. Do you wish on stars? No...does anyone?

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? RED

35. How is the weather right now? A little overcast and cold

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? The love of my life

37. Favorite soft drink? does berry lemonade count?

38. Favorite restaurant? Macaroni Grill

39. Real Hair color? The same color its always been...a lovely shade of brown

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? i had a wood doll that you could velcro different clothes onto

41. Summer or winter? SUMMER!! Say NO to SNOW!

42. Hugs or kisses? yes yes YES!

43. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate

44. Coffee or tea? hot chocolate!

45. Do you want your friends to also fill this out? Yeah sure...whatever floats your boat

46. When was the last time you cried? 2 weeks ago

47. What is under your bed? some tissues i'm sure...i don't think you really want to know ;p

48. What did you do last night? Wrote out our 2009 goals with kiel & watched Prs. Monsons fireside and worked on a puzzle

49. What are you afraid of? driving in the snow and crashing with caleb in the car

50. Salty or sweet? I have the HUGEST sweet tooth

51. How many keys on your key ring? 3

52. How many years at your current job? 8 months...I love being a mom!!!

53. Favorite day of the week? Friday...i get to see my husband for the rest of the week!

54. How many towns have you lived in? like..8...or 9?

55. Do you make friends easily? yeah

Happy New Year!

Merry (sunny) Christmas

THE 25TH

This year we did something different for Christmas, we moved it to the 27th! The reason being that Kiel couldn't get work off until the evening of the 26th. So on the 25th we had the traditional christmas breakfast of homemade cinnamon bread, omelets, porridge, and fresh orange juice from our orchard. Bless those hands that juiced all those oranges! They're gunna need it. Then we played with everyone elses toys and just sat around and talked! Now, you have to understand that my mom is one of 9 or 10...I can't remember which. And like half those siblings live on the same dead end street as my family. And each of those siblings of my mom also have at least 8 kids = a lot of ppl!! and alot of chaos...and my family wouldn't have it any other way. We really love being all together! So we just bonded for a good majority of the day and then we read the Christmas story and discussed it in detail that that evening. My dad teaches institute so he knows lots of random and technical facts about scripture stories. It was a great christmas day that really let us focus on being with family and thinking about Christ. My 12 yr old sister Katie was so cute when she called us to attention after reading the christmas story and said, " this has been my favorite christmas because I got to see that presents don't really matter. The real meaning of christmas is about Christ and what he did for us. Lets do it like this again! But not next year...lets have it on the real day next year." haha. Out of the mouth of pre-teens.

THE 27TH

Today was our Christmas! We did the traditional wait on the stairs until everyone (including the parents) are ready. Then we take a picture and line the kids up youngest to oldest and let them go into the christmas room.
Merry 1st Christmas Caleb!

Yay! Lots of presents!
Daddy's, Caleb's, and my stocking

The kids ready to look at their stockings!

Opening up presents...apparently Tommy got a nerf football
Caleb loved his presents!!!...eating them that is...
Caleb had so much fun on his very first Christmas!!
So much fun that it wore him out.

Suprise!!! Happy Birthday Mom!!

My moms birthday is Dec. 16th and all of us kids who have moved out of the house wanted to surprise her for her birthday! We were already going to AZ for Christmas so we told her we had tickets for the 18th and we even created fake flight itineraries...how brilliant was that?! But what she didn't know was that we really had tickets for the 16th. My aunt was putting on a birthday party for my mom, my grandma, and my other aunt who's birthdays are the day before and after my moms so here's how it went down: I met my sisters who flew in from Connecticut at the airport at around 3:30. Then my grandparents picked us up. They had told my mom they had to take the van in for a maintenance check up...haha. The problem was that the dinner party wasn't for another hour so we hung out and my grandparents until the anticipated moment arrived. We then went over to my aunts house and walked in just in time to sing Happy Birthday! You should have seen the look on my moms face! Well actually, you get to b/c I walked in with my camera up and ready. Isn't that the perfect surprised look??
We then got to do hugs and take some pictures (yes my mom was like bawling) and then we ate.

Then we had birthday cake...isn't it cute?? We used sparklers instead of candles..how funny is that...i thought that would be a fire hazard but it was actually pretty cool!

So it all turned out as great as possible and my mom got the present she wanted most: her whole family there with her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! I love you!