Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas! We sure did. Christmas was especially fun with Milly being two this year. From the moment the first present was layed under the tree, she was overcome with joy and said, "Open presents!" We would remind her with each present that when it was Christmas, we would open presents. She was so patient and did not try to open any of them. She probably thought Christmas would never come, but it did, and it was a great and abundant Christmas. We are truly blessed. Milly was especially excited when she woke up and Santa Clause had brought her a big bag of nicely wrapped up gifts. The only part that could have made it better would be having Tyler here with us. We miss him very much, but thanks to web cam, we were able to see each other open gifts and be a part of each other's Christmas that way! So now Christmas is over, and today I spent the day cleaning and organizing and putting away all of me and Milly's Christmas stuff. We received over a foot of snow here in Star Valley since Christmas Day, and so we will be playing in the snow lots this year! We are very excited!

Milly's First Haircut

I know it's horrible that Milly is over 2 years old and just received her first hair cut! I was really not planning on cutting it, either. But here is how this came about. Milly's hair was finally getting long and I knew she needed a trim, but I have just been putting it off. My sister has been bugging me to cut Milly's hair short, and I of course said no. She said, "well at least give her a trim." So I consented to let her trim Milly's hair. Well, my sister later confessed that she put Milly's hair in a pony tail and cut the end of the pony tail, thinking that it would give the hair a nice even trim. Well, the whole middle section ended up being 2 inches smaller than the rest of the hair, so I had to chop the rest off, so now Milly has short hair. She is still adorable as ever, though!

More Top Tens...

Top 10 reason why I love the Christmas Season:

1. It's the one time of year that music and reminders about the Savior are accepted most everywhere you go.

2. Spending hours making Christmas treats and delivering them to neighbors

3. Having someone knock at your door and delivering a plate of goodies to you

4. The Inspiring music that reminds us of the most important things in life

5. The smell of a fresh, real, Christmas Tree

6. Getting Christmas Cards and pictures from friends and family

7. Shopping sprees where I have an excuse to spend lots of money and buy lots of gifts

8. The Magical feeling in the air

9. Family Gatherings

10. Amilya going around singing "Jingle Bells" and saying "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!"

A time for Gratitude

Thanksgiving was great, but would have been better with Tyler. We spent dinner with my Mom's side of the family, and spent the rest of the Holiday being lazy, watching movies, and went and got a Christmas tree On Saturday. We actually had some snow, so we put the little kids in sleds and walked up in the mountain, cut a tree down, and drug it to the truck. Yes, we are real pioneers. Of course Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect on what we are grateful for, so here is a small list of my gratitudes:

1. I am grateful for a wonderful husband who is so thoughtful and so full of strength and courage.
2. I am grateful for wonderful parents who continue to teach me so much, love me, and put up with me even though I am 24 and still living at home with a very busy and curious 2 year old.
3. I am grateful for Amilya and her sweet spirit, her energy, her creativeness, and how loving she is. If she senses I am hurt, she is sure to say, "You OK Mama?"
4. I am grateful for my health and strength and two healthy legs, which are two things I took for granted for not too long ago.
5. I am grateful for all of my siblings, including my in-law siblings; they are all incredible people.
6. I am grateful for beautiful Star Valley, the mountains, and the 4 seasons we get to experience here.
7 I am grateful for friends who love me despite my weaknesses and are such incredible examples to me.
8. I am grateful for time to actually sit here and write this.
9. I am grateful for my talents and my love for music that inspires me everyday.
10. I am grateful to be me, despite my many weaknesses and trials.

The 10 Top Things Milly has said lately...

1. "Daddy in Korea."
2. "That's not nice."
3. "I wanna lay down."
4. "How Rude."
5. "I love you sweetie."
6. "This my mommy."
7. " Where'd Abby go?"
8. "I wanna snack."
9. "I needa go potty." (No, she is not potty trained yet... at all, but this is a start!)
10. "I wanna a pickle."

An Update on the Bantas

I haven't been blogging very much lately, so I figured it was time for an update.

Tyler:
Tyler has been in Korea for 3 and 1/2 weeks; we're getting close to 1 month down! He is doing as good as he can be on a very small over sea base with mostly single guys who don't know what it's like to leave a wife and a child behind, and who mostly all drink heavily because of the free Beer over there. But there is a small branch on base with about 10 other guys who mostly have families. Tyler and I talk about every day through Skype and web cam. The 15 hour time difference makes it a little challenging at times to coordinate times to talk to each other, though.

Milly:
Milly is doing great and loves to talk to her Daddy, especially on web-cam. I'm so blessed to have her. She keeps me busy, laughing, and smiling. Her latest thing is horses; she loves playing with my little brother's toy horses and my little sister's doll house dolls. She has to bath with them, play with them, and sleep with them at times. She is so funny. She also loves bubble gum. I give my piano students bubble gum, so she begs for a piece when she can, and usually she just swallows it, but lately, she will chew it for about 10-15 minutes, and then I'll ask her if she's done, and she will say "Yes," and spit it out in my hand to throw away. So Smart! Milly was Pebbles from The Flintstones cartoon for Halloween and I was Betty. Milly was so cute, and she loved the idea of holding open her bag and saying "Trick or Treat" for candy.

Me:
Well, I stay busy taking care of Milly, teaching 10 students piano lessons, and sleeping a lot lately, about 2 naps a day to be exact. I was going to wait longer to tell, but what the heck...I'm pregnant, and due about June 11th (according to the Internet)! We're excited, except now I am remembering how tired I was with Milly, and queasy I get when I need food. So, making my bed, cleaning up after Milly daily, and putting on makeup everyday have not been priorities for me lately. But I will get through this and we are excited. I am wondering how you mothers do it with your pregnancies after your first child! Any advice or Empathy would be greatly appreciated.

I was tagged...

I was tagged by Sarah Jackson www.happyjacksons.blogspot.com , so here it goes:

1. I love watching I Love Lucy episodes; my whole family does. We all collect the seasons, and I collect anything that is I Love Lucy. Someday, I will have a guest bedroom completely devoted to I Love Lucy.

2. Breakfast is my all time favorite meal of the day. I love any kind of breakfast food. When I was pregnant with Milly, I craved breakfast all the time, and for like the first 3 months, I ate breakfast food for almost every meal.

3. I have lived on a farm my whole life growing up, and we've had every farm animal in the book. You'd think that I would love cats and dogs and pets, but the truth is... I can't stand any kind of pet, especially indoor pets. Yuck! Animals are meant to go outside, I don't care how short their fur it or how sad they look. I will never have any sort of pet, not even a fish...well maybe a fish someday just for my kids.

4. Some people may not know that in January 2008, I got a flesh eating virus in a sprained ankle and it spread up my leg to my knee. I spent 3 weeks in the University of Utah Hospital and they basically skinned me from the knee down, including all of the tissue. They took skin from my thigh and part of my butt (ouch) and grafted it on my lower leg. Skin Grafts are crazy and take a long time to heal, so I currently have a red interesting looking leg, but at least it's my leg, and someday, nobody will even be able to tell.

5. Tyler and I were neighbors and in the same ward for 4 years before we even spoke or new each other at all, and I was not a shy girl; I dated about every guy in our ward and new all of them, except Tyler. Our paths just never crossed; it was as if we were being kept from each other until 5 months before his mission, we finally met, and it was an instant bond, and the rest is history.

6. I love taking baths; I bath every day. I lay there in hot water and relax at least for just a few minutes. I learned it from my Mother, who takes like a 1/2 hour bath every morning in her jet tub and reads. Life is full of little joys like that.

7. I love life and love learning, and I'm amazed at the hidden treasures of knowledge that there is out there in the world in books and from very gifted people and from the spirit. I truly believe that those who have ears to hear and eyes to see will be led to incredible amounts of knowledge that will help us combat the evil, the negativity, the plagues, and the sicknesses in this world. I believe that this life is a test, yes, but it can be a very successful test if we truly open up our hearts to what the Lord is trying to show us and give us.

I Tag...

Kylie

Lindsey

Jennie

Brooke

Heidi

Jessica

Tyler Begins his tour in Korea

We had a great time with Tyler while he was home for 2 and 1/2 weeks; it was definitely too short, though. We never dreamed that we would be spending the first 18 months of the Air Force apart. We tried to make the best of every day while he was home and now he is in Korea and we are missing him already. I have to look at all the blessings that will come of this, though. Obviously this is what the Lord has in store for us at this time. So I put up my sticker-count-down chart up and we have 2 days down and 363 to go! He is planning on coming home for a few weeks in May and I might get to go and visit him in January, so that will help. So...may the year go fast for the Bantas!

We are a Happy Family!

My Amazing Husband and my Smart Daughter

This week is full of excitement! Tyler graduated this morning from his 15 week Tech. School Training. He has studied hard, and received the award for the top graduate, so we are very excited and proud! Way to Go Tyler! He flies in tomorrow and I pick him up at the SLC airport! Yeah! We get to spend 3 weeks with him, and then he's off to Korea. Milly will be very excited to see her Daddy and spend time with him. She has grown so much since he left and is so smart. Milly said her first 6 word sentence yesterday. We were in Rexburg visiting my Sister and she said, "Mommy, I want to go home." Wow! My baby is growing up. The funniest thing lately is that she has started calling me "Lisha" every now and then. We just laugh; it's very understandable since I have 5 siblings at home and parents that obviously all call me either "Alicia" or "Lisha." Kids are so funny, especially at the age of Terrific Two!

Tyler is almost done with Tech. School!

Tyler will be home from Tech. School in 2 weeks and 2 days! I can't wait! Being without him is not fun. But, we've both realized again how incredibly much we love each other! Love is like testimonies; they're constant, but have moments of renewal and times when they become strengthened and we are reminded of the important things in life.

Milly has also missed her Daddy very much! She loves all the men in her life. All of my uncles are Papa and she would rather them hold her than all my aunts. She loves to cuddle up next to my Dad, who is the "real" Papa and have his attention. When we are in restaurants and stores, she sees older men, and says, "Papa," and starts looking at them and inches her way over to them. In nursery, she has really taken to this older man that works in there with his wife. She wouldn't even let my sister Emily take her out of his arms at the end of church! So, Milly will be very glad to spend 3 weeks with her Daddy. We love you Tyler and can't wait to see you!

Milly is 2!

I can't believe that Amilya is already two years old; time has went by so quickly! She is our pride and joy and fills our days with laughter and gratitude. We are so blessed.

At least she started out the day with her hair fixed!

Oh by the way...Barbie cakes are very complicated if you don't have a real Barbie Cake Pan, I learned that the hard way.

This is just a random picture of what Milly would look like if she had glasses. Isn't she just adorable. I am proud to call this child mine. I am now graduated from being called "Mommy"; I am now "Mom." It's "Mom, come 'ere." "Mom, watch." "Mom, hold me." But there is definitely something special about being called Mommy, Mama, or Mom. What a great calling in life motherhood truly is.

It's always interesting to me how we always wait until the end of the summer to cram all the events and activities in. So, we have been very busy these last couple of weeks, and Amilya has totally lost every bit of her daily and nightly routine, well what routine she did have, but it's summer right? Fall is kind of like the beginning of a new year for me; I make new goals and I try to re-organize our life. So, in this regards, I'm excited for Fall to come!


This is our day at Bear Lake. Milly loved every minute of playing in the sand and in the water!

This is our day at the fair. Star Valley has a fair and carnival every year and it is usually a huge event, unfortunately this year wasn't as great, but it was still something to do.

Blow-up toys were the extent of our carnival experience this year...

But it was enough for Milly

Milly's birthday isn't until the 20th of this month, but because Grandpa and Grandma Banta live 5 hours away and came to visit this week, we had a little birthday party with them while they were here.

I Love This Guy!

1. I love how he is so genuine with every one he meets, never trying to be something he's not.

2. I love how he is my best friend and we can tell eachother everything.

3. I love that he is such an amazing father, so loving and gentle.

4. I love that he is so affectionate and thoughtful.

5. I love that Tyler is a kid at heart and knows how to have fun.

6. I love that he is such a great dancer and loves music like I do.

7. I love how handsome and sexy he is, and I love that he loves sports and that being physically fit is important to him.

8. I love how he honors his priesthood and his temple covenants.

9. I love his laugh and his smile.

10. I love that he is so smart, and can figure out how to fix anything.

11. I love how he is so maticulous at times and a perfectionist.

12. I love that he is such a hard worker and a very determined person.

I just plain love this guy!

Our Busy July!

July was a great month. It started with the big 4th of July weekend where we got to see a lot of family, and Milly's first cousin on my side was blessed on Sunday the 6th. My Brother Joseph and his Wife Arit had a baby girl the end of May and they named her Fanny Elaina Shumway. She is adorable and it's been so fun for our family to have a brand new little one in the family, and now my parents have 2 grand-daughters to spoil!