Thanks...I got it...

Well, mom and dad kind of missed the Thanksgiving blog with photos so I figured I'd take over this month. So here we go, in no particular order, with my commentary. You know, sometimes if you want things done right, you just have to do them yourself.

These days, I'm experimenting with putting my dish on my head. I like hats but I don't want mom and dad to know, so I rip every hat they put on my head off immediately - don't care how cool it is! - but I feel compelled to put this sticky syrup dish on my head. Go figure! I'm also working on silverware, but wow, this spaghetti stuff is just impossible. Kiss, anyone?

This is me and my friend Nikelle at brunch on a Sunday. Mom and Aunt Tiff just ran 10 miles because they're training for a big race in Vegas, so they kind of smelled. But breakfast was great and I love that Nikelle played hiding games with me and she likes it when I try to kiss her. And crayons are pretty good for breakfast!

My new favorite place to sit, you might ask? The refrigerator, of course. It's cool.

We got to go to the aquarium over Thanksgiving. I just started watching Nemo...luuuuvin it! Where is Dorie's academy award, I ask?! So I'm way into fish now. I loved all the fishes and now have super cool Nemo stuffed animal who sleeps with me at night. I can point out any fish anywhere - goldfish crackers, fish on menus, colorful bugs or birds that I think I can persuade people to agree are "fishes." I think I can convice mom and dad into getting me a fish for Xmas. Workin' it now!

Mom and Dad had a "garage-gating" party for the big U/BYU game. Shut it! When the game isn't at home, you do what you can do! It was a pretty great event, with Washoes (I'm quite good) and oodles of food...right up till the part where we lost! The adults seemed pretty bummed out but I was busy playing some pool ball game with my buddies that came over. I also learned that my family is competitive. Papa and Uncle Marc were playing PS2 and wow...it's serious stuff.

Mommy and Aunt Tiff went to Las Vegas to run the Rock n' Roll half-marathon. There were 30,000 people there, fireworks, Elvises, bands. It sounded cool. I got a Rock Star t-shirt and a bear so I was happy.

In other news...I like to dance.

Alright, people. That's it. Hopefully my parents will be on it enough to take care of the December posts. If not...I'm on it!

Love, Tagg

Funny Faces

Little Boy with Big Boy Hair and Big, Big Smiles!














The obligatory "eating spaghetti" picture. Dang cute!













Playing in rocks on a sunny October day...serious business.


















My new favorite seat. The dog dish.

















Saturday night fever moves? No...Dad has my ball!

Vamos a Mexico!

Okay, technically that's we're going to Mexico but we really went to Cabo San Lucas the first week of October. That's what happens when you're behind on the blog posts!

The trip started out kind of like the Amazing Race...with a baby. And no million dollars at the end. We were supposed to have a direct flight on Delta, but it was cancelled at the last minute due to weather so we had to rebook on American, pull our bags, re-check in everything (and there's a LOT of luggage when you travel with a baby!!), and go back through security. We barely made our flight.

When we got to DFW for a few hour layover we found out that someone pulled Tagg's ticket so we had to go back to Delta for a new one which was a little difficult since there was NO ONE at the Delta desk. It had been closed for hours and the one crabby gate agent left wouldn't help us. Fortunately we found some nice Delta folks who had stayed after hours for a party who took care of things, and again we just skated in to our flight right as they were giving us our last call and pulling our bags off the plane. So our 2 1/2 hour direct flight turned into an all-day, stress-filled journey. Which ended with our patio being flooded with about 4 inches of water. At least Tagg was awesome the whole time, as usual!

Once we got settled, things were wonderful! We were a little worried about how Tagg would do with the food and the heat but he was awesome. There were a few things he didn't like...like lemons. But he loved quesadillas, guacamole and fruit. The kid ate it like it was going out of style.

He really loved the pool and the ocean and the sand and mariachi bands. He and daddy had a blast at the pool, and he was a hit with all the ladies. He also liked sleeping...anywhere. Maybe it was the heat but he literally fell asleep on the table at the Office before we were able to him to a chair. That ended up being a little expensive because all the beach vendors come by so we shopped for his whole 2 hour nap! Luckily he woke up in time to help us pick out some very important gifts.

We had kind of a big group: my sister Tiffany and our friend Ana stayed at the resort next door and our friend Jenny, her husband Mark and their 4-year-old Nikelle were at a different resort with Jenny's birth sister and her whole family. We went to a fiesta one night with them which was really fun. The kids were a riot. They were up on stage, dancing and singing and their little guy was having a full-on dance party on stage. Rock star in the making, I think!

We went to gym almost every morning and did some yoga, and we all had massages one day which was lovely. Especially after walking up and down the beach in the heat with big backpacks and big one-year-olds to carry! We really enjoyed relaxing on the balcony and enjoying the views. One day we rented a car and went to the surfers' beach and Arts N' Beer, got some sun and had a few sangrias and buckets o' beer to go with our chips and salsa. It was a really fabulous and relaxing trip and we can't wait to go back!

Trick or Treat!

We can't believe it's Halloween already! Seems like just yesterday that we were bundling Tagg up in his little dinosaur, monster, dragon costume and hanging out with the family while it rained out the trick or treaters.

This year, we got to go to the pumpkin patch where Tagg thought it would be cool to pound each one of the hundreds of orange "balls". It was pretty cute for the first 30 or 40 minutes! And then we somehow ended up with 86 pounds of pumpkins! What do you do with that much pumpkin?!

Tagg was not a fan of his monkey costume. Sure it was a little short on him and the hat may have been a little...well, on his head. We picked it because "monkey" has been one of his nicknames, and his favorite Wiggles song is the one with Kylie Minogue where they sing about the little monkey man. Sadly, he did not appreciate our thoughtfulness and sported a pout and determination to yank that hat off. Oh well! Better luck next year, mom and dad!

We went to the annual Halloween party...as Roller Derby Girls - even Scott! Brad won the coin toss for the referee outfit. We actually wore our roller skates to the party and no one crashed into a door or fell down or anything! We're like old pros!

Marc and Becky came as Juno and Paulie Bleeker. Marc spent hours perfecting the tshirt and dyeing his sweatbands. Funny. Even baby Harper Grace had a costume...a pillow to make her look more prego! The Sunny D and the Tic Tacs were nice touches! We celebrated Becky's 30th bday too with a delightful Nothing Bundt Cake (if you haven't tried these...go buy one. Now. Right now!)

Little Football Fan

Tagg went to his first Ute football game on September 26th, his 14-month birthday against Louisville. It was not his first tailgating event,so as you can see even at his age the kid has his priorities straight!

We couldn't find any U of U gear in his size that wasn't sweats which would have been cruel considering it was about 100 degrees out! He did manage to get some beads from the gals (don't ask!) but quickly decided that playing in some mud was much more exciting than barbecue and socializing.

He did find some kids to play ball with, which was fun. And then he fell asleep. Till halftime! But once we were in the game, he had a blast. He kept pointing at the field saying "ball" and then clapping. So cute!

The Utes won 30-14. We had a great time, and beat all the traffic home. Gotta love it! Thanks, mom and dad, for the 50-yard-line season tickets and the parking pass. You're awesome!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend at Lake Powell...it's one of our family traditions! We left late on Thursday night and got settled in around 2am. Ouch. Tiffany, Marc and Becky came down the next day and we ended up on a fabulous sandy beach in Bullfrog Bay with about 15 of our nearest and dearest boating friends.

It kind of looked like an on the water boat show! Although the weather was a little sketchy, overcast with enough storms that we had to put our tops up, we had a blast. Tagg had a blast playing in the sand with all of the kids. Chery took a few gorgeous pictures of Scott walking on the beach with Tagg. She's so talented!

The Annual Powell Trip!

Better late than never they say, and I hope that's true cuz this one dates back to the first week of August! We had a fabulous week, great weather, good skiing, lots of cards and...splashing! Well, that was Tagg mostly but wow, he had fun. We played this great game called splashing (with his hands), kickin' (with his feet) and running (where we'd hold him up and he'd run on the water splashing the whole time laughing hysterically.

Tagg went with us on every morning ski run, decked out in his shades and lifejacket and a hat, if we could get him to keep it on. It was so nice to be back out in Last Chance which always seems to have glass water.

Tagg really likes riding on the wave runner. He'd hop on and smile, push some buttons, take off for a slow ride with daddy and, boom! he was out like a light. Not once, not twice ... every single time he got on the wave runner! It was so funny! Maybe next year he'll be one of the kids screaming for more donuts and go-fasts, but this year, the wave runner was all about naptime!

The week was perfect. Entirely too much food and fudge jumbles, hold 'em games till the wee hours, water balloon bombings, craft projects with the kids, washoes and frisbee golf, and lots of water sports including Sandy's monumental double-morning ski which lasted an eternity!, not to mention the emergency trip to the poop dock. Ah, mem-rees!

And, yes, Tagg's learning to drive the boat - with a little assistance from dad, of course! He had a great time with all of his cousins that week and we're already counting the days till next year!

First Steps!

It's official! He's walking! Tagg actually took his first steps, about 3 altogether from couch to couch, on Friday June 27th while Scott and I were both watching. We looked at each other like - did we really just see that?!?!? But then he was just back to standing and crawling until yesterday.

We were joking that we've been pushing him down when he was just getting the hang of it because we didn't want him walking at Lake Powell over the 4th weekend. What a good guy to wait till we got home!

He's still not too sure what to do with this walking business but he's pretty proud when he makes it a few steps, and so are we!

Party, Party, Party...

In the grand Harmer tradition, Tagg started celebrating his first birthday a little early. We had a party on July 19th since so many of our friends were going to be out for the Pioneer Day holiday weekend, and Tami, Jake and Porter were here for OR (Outdoor Retailers). It was a great excuse to get everyone together and celebrate all of the summer birthdays.

Tagg's birthday present from Mom and Dad was a little...hmmm, over the top?! Like he's going to be able to use this any time soon! At least the friends that visit him will enjoy it for a year or so. We got a great deal on the playset at CostCo (that will teach me to run in for formula!) and the best part? It was all put together. We were quite a sight, loading it into the bed of the truck with forklift and driving through town, ducking under every single traffic light.

Once we had it home...problem. How do we get it out of the truck, over the fence and into the yard. Solution? Mormons! Haha. Our amazingly wonderful neighbor recruited about 16 guys from church (thank goodness they were looking for any excuse to leave early!) who showed up in shirts and ties and hucked this thing out of the truck and over the fence in about 15 minutes. It was like a modern-day Amish barn raising!

The party was great. Tagg spent most of it dragging Aunt Blah-Blah (Becky) and Uncle Marc around while he kicked his ball and laughed at the dogs, and well...everything! We also had a blow-up bounce house on loan from some friends which was pretty fun. It was so hot that a waterslide version would have been good but it was still fun!

We got to spend some time with Tami, Jake and Porter who were in from Minnesota. Porter's birthday was just a month ago so the boys shared some birthday cake. Tagg really went to town. Apparently, Nothing Bundt Cakes are the way to go for 1-year-old birthdays! (Who can blame him? They really are delightful!)

The boys got to have a "tubby" after all the cake-eating, which was also pretty cute. Tagg actually probably enjoyed the splashing in the tub more than his actual birthday present!