Mental Pictures

I am terrible at taking pictures. It's not just that they don't turn out great...but I forget to take them at all. My mission pictures, for example, consist pretty much exclusively of me at Zone Conference or baptisms because those were the only times I'd remember to take it out. I had a whole companionship where I didn't take a single picture. Now that I have a blog, I at least occasionally take a picture specifically because I think it would make a great blog post. For example:

This was going to be a follow-up post when the Cougars were demolished by Florida State. Clearly, I never got around to it, but the devastation I felt was real nonetheless.

Anyway, the point is that I just spent two and a half fabulous weeks in Utah, and I fear that my pattern of not taking any pictures continued, so for this blog post I'll have to satisfy myself with mental pictures instead. I can think of several highlights of the trip that are picture-worthy:

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  Introducing Colton to the extended Durham family at Grandma's 84th birthday party.
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  Getting together with Emily and Kristi (who was also randomly in town) for a play group with only Colton.
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  A festivus reunion dinner at Red Robin with my dear friend MaryAnn.
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  Hanging out with Ben and Cami and Grandma Scott for conference.
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  Justin fixing the toilet paper holders in the upstairs bathrooms at my parents' house, despite his nasty cold.
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  Meeting Katie D for lunch in American Fork (and buying a lot of cookies).
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  Sharing Sunday dinner with Cousin Ted and Sarah and adorable little Drew.
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  Chad's 30th almost-surprise birthday party.
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  Dinner at Los with a some of the ladies of the L and their spouses.
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  Playing Book Worm with Joshy and having him tell me we better go get Grandma Louise to help because I'm not very good at it.
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  Getting very thorough pedicures with Margaret in a color that turned out to be one step away from black.
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  Taking a lovely walk down Timpview Drive with Cari and our two strollers.
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  My mom and dad and I sitting around the computer playing Chuzzle (we got the high score).
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  Coming home to Justin who had gotten me flowers and prepared a full at-home spa treatment for me after a long day of flying home alone with a congested infant--complete with candles, bubble bath, and chocolate-dipped stawberries. This might be my favorite mental picture of all.

The one thing I did take actual pictures of (in mass quantity) was Colton and his new cousin/future best friend Zac.

These little boys in their matching Sunday onesies were too irresistible not to take pictures of them!!!

Rise and Shout!

There are a lot of BYU fans out there. I know this. But so many people's dedication to the Y didn't take place until actually going to BYU. In some cases, even attending BYU didn't make you a true cougar fan (Cousin Ted, you know who you are--what's with this I was born a U fan, and I'm going to die a U fan? It just doesn't make sense when your diploma says BYU at the top...but I digress and that is a discussion for another post.) My passion for BYU football began in earnest in junior high school. Those were the good old days of Cougar football. Ty Detmer. Dewy Gray. Chad Lewis. Peter Tuipilotu. Kalin Hall. Jamal Willis. Eric Drage. Margaret and I used to get to each game early, and we'd wait by the door of the locker rooms at the end so we could give the team a high five. We were obsessed. We knew every player by name and number. We never missed a game. We even endured sitting in the most boring section in Cougar stadium next to the exact same people year after year after year (no offense to the faculty section, but really, you are supposed to cheer at a football game). I'm not quite so obsessed now (probably because they only broadcast a couple games a year on the east coast--although we are considering getting a direct tv, mostly just so we can watch the games), I'm dedicated enough to still put on my BYU t-shirt and cheer loud enough to wake up my son.

Anyway, this post is dedicated to the Cougar Football team for beating #3 Oklahoma, for not breaking our hearts at the critical moment, and for starting Colton's BYU Football experience out on the right foot. Colton and I had been practicing the fight song before the game. I'm glad to see that he remembered the actions.

Ra! Ra! Ra! Go Cougars!

Colton, we're going to pump you up

Let your minds wander back a decade or so to the good old days of SNL. Do you remember the skit where Hans and Frans told us that they were going to pump *clap* you up? Well, Hans and Frans have nothing on me and Justin. When they told us at his two week appointment that Colton was in the second percentile, we decided we'd better start working with the lad--and the results are astounding! A mere four weeks later, and he's already increased his mass by 50% and moved all the way up to the tenth percentile. Here are some of the steps in Justin and Bethany's Pump You Up Body-Building Program:

We discovered that the tomatoes in our garden really started to flourish when we added a little MiracleGro, so we started with that...

Of course, any effective workout program must include exercise. Due to his lack of coordination and inability to do anything but lie down, we decided to start him off with a weight-lifting program. Impressive that he is able to lift weights equal to his own body mass...

When you're on this kind of intense workout program, it's also essential to increase you caloric intake. Colton didn't want to waste any time and went straight for some delicious creamy butter. He made sure that there were no tans-fats. (He hates eating things that are unhealthy.)

Two measley little ounces of milk didn't seem like enough...so we bumped it up to a gallon.

And after so much hard work, a little dessert never hurt anyone...

Now he just needs to keep up the hard work!

Up Close and Personal

So, I may be slightly smitten by the cuteness of my little boy. How can you resist this little face?

Milestones

Now that Colton is three weeks old, I thought I should post some of the major milestones he has passed so far.

First bath (He was slightly traumatized at first, but seems to enjoy it now):

First comparison with Grandpa Cole's hand (it turns out that Colton is only slightly larger):

First burp with Grandma Louise (this is one of his favorite facial expressions):

First moment of exasperation with his parents:

First prayer (he's already very spiritual--he folds his arms and everything):

First time rock climbing. Don't be thrown off by his crying face. He loved rock climbing. He was just sad because the shoes were a little too big.

It's a (wicked awesome) Boy!

We are so excited to announce the birth of our son, Colton Randle Scott. We were somewhat surprised at his early arrival (10 days) because he was certainly making no signs of wanting to come out, but thanks to a sudden spike in my blood pressure, the doctors decided to induce me while Colton and I were both still healthy (they were worried that I'd develop pre-eclampsia). They started pitocin at 1:30 on Thursday afternoon, and after a long slow night, Colton was born at 7:25 the next morning (July 17). He is 19 inches long and a bulky 5 lbs 10 ounces. Here are some pictures from the hospital:

Under the warmer. He has big hands compared to his skinny body!

I don't know about that Daddy person. I better keep my eye on him...


I'm sleepy...

But before I nap, I must finish my plans for taking over the universe.

Oh well, that can wait. Nap first...

A little too small for his car seat. Good thing we got that larger model.

Happy Feast of July!

This year we decided to celebrate the 4th of July the way the Pilgrims intended us to--by having an overwhelming feast. I guess technically the Pilgrims didn't celebrate the 4th of July, but I think the Founding Fathers probably would have had a celebratory feast if they hadn't just committed high treason by signing the Declaration, and if the British weren't already attacking.


Anyway, rather than go downtown to some of the many wonderful celebrations taking place here in our nation's capital (I was particularly sad that I missed the made-for-day pyrotechnic display at Mt. Vernon which was scheduled from 12:45 -12:50. It sounds amazing, but the thought of walking around through huge crowds at 8 1/2 months pregnant was, well, exhausting...), we stayed home and smoked an 8 lb pork butt and made all the appropriate side dishes--potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, and corn-on-the-cob. Top that off with some IBC Root Beer, and our celebration was complete. In hind sight, we probably should have invited some people to join our feast because it turns out that we had a little more than we could eat. Either way, we love America and all the delicious food you can eat here!