My Nephew Knows My Name! Well, Sort Of...

So my nephew has learned my name! He calls me Yessie. A few weeks ago, he apparently picked up my sister's laptop and brought it to her saying "Yessie. Yessie."
The kid thinks I live in the computer and that's how they communicate with me! So we skyped and he squealed, "Yessie!!!" as soon as I got on and then proceeded to tell me this story in his gibberish. He was so excited and talked a million miles an hour. He got done with his story, waved, and then got down from Ashley's lap and went and played. He had something to tell me so he got his mom to Skype me. He is so cute!
I have no idea what had him so excited but it warmed my heart that he wanted to tell me about it! That and he said my name before Mom and Brittany! Although, the other day, he was calling Mom "Gaga."
Favorite Aunt for the win!
Oh, and I cemented that title when I had Ashley introduce him to a Despicable Me minion video where they are singing a version of "Barbara Ann" but about a Banana. He loved it! I took a picture of my computer so you'd be able to see his face.

I'm totally the favorite aunt!

Look At The Cuteness!!! Look At It!!!

It is always a blessing to be able to go home even if it's only for a week. My last visit home consisted of shopping, playing with the nephew, going to the temple, playing with the nephew, attending one of my best friend's weddings, and playing with the nephew.
See the theme? I played with the nephew a lot. I regret nothing! He has gotten so big! Last time I saw him all he was able to do is cry at me and poop his pants. Don't get me wrong. He still does that but he can play now! It is so fun! I've never seen a happier little guy. His giggle makes you all happy and giggly too! He's happy even when his aunt who is clumsy in all things baby tries to put his diaper on backwards. In my defense, he started rolling and I just grabbed. It's not my fault that the diaper happened to be backwards.
Oh! And the kid can eat! You have to stop feeding him because he won't stop eating. I think he totally fits into the family food dynamic. Except his mother unit gets upset when he has half a can of soda. In me and Corki's defense, he ended up wearing half of it.
Ok, enough of my bragging and excuse making. Here are some pictures of the kid. Seriously, look at all the cuteness! Look at it, I say!

He didn't know what to do with me when I got in the car.

It took me half the car ride home to get the kid to smile. I only got one after I started undoing the car seat straps.

Great Grandpa "teaching" the kid to walk.

It was okay with him because he got to be closer to the puppies.

Not that the puppies stayed away.

The kid has a soda addiction. He fits right in with the family.

Hurry finish! Mom just walked in!

Good thing Grandma had a birthday. We like cake!

Most importantly we like frosting. Must of learned that from Grandpa.

Our favorite toy is Monkey. Aunt Jessie did good choosing that one out. In fact all the favorite toys are the ones Aunt Jessie bought. Favorite aunt? I believe so.

We tend to tackle Monkey most days.

Mmmm... Corn. Or maybe it's the butter left on the corn?

Aunt Corki is the favorite other than Grandma. I'm going to have to learn the Froggy song for when she's on her mission.

I love that he is cuddler.

He also likes some air time,...

...kisses...

...and horsey rides.

Helping Aunt Corki with the laundry.

I think he's just going along for the ride.

Tigger is the new favorite toy. I think the kid doubled his toy count with this trip home.

He LOVES his books! Totally related to his Grandma and Aunts.

Sometimes you can't turn the pages fast enough for the kid. Kind of like you can't feed him fast enough.

We like Grandma a little bit.

The one and only time he decided to like Great Grandma the whole time we were there.

I don't know who was more worn out. Grandma or Conrad?

Our little card shark "helping" Aunt Corki.

Mmmm... Black Cherry.

Almost had it.

In the airport waiting for our flights. Fortunately for his mom, Aunt Jessie flew out last.

Unfortunately, he was upset leaving Aunt Jessie at the gate. Don't worry, Conrad. I'm coming to your house for Thanksgiving.

Good thing Aunt Jessie has some mad pipette skills in the absence of the sippy cup.

Think he likes soda?

 It was awesome being home but it was even more awesome being able to go to my friend Robert's wedding! I'm so happy for him and Maegan! Way to go, buddy!
It was also awesome because I was able to go the temple with Corki when she received her endowment. My whole family was able to go. It was so cool being in the temple with all of my sisters! It would have been even better if Navar could have come.

I love my family and it was so good to spend time with them! Now to leave you with some more cuteness. This proves that me and the kid were friends by the time I left. It's amazing the power of bribery.

Yes, I can get the kid to giggle on demand. Awesome super power, right?

Happy Graduation To Me!!!

Success is mine!!! I survived getting my Master's degree!!! My reward was a very large diploma and a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean with my parents and grandma!
Cruises are awesome! You pretty much stay in an extremely large, floating hotel and are served a ton (and I mean a ton) of food! The food may have been the most awesome thing outside of the shore excursions that we went on! Though I have a soft spot for the towel animals we found on our bed each evening.
Since our cruise left from Galveston, TX we flew into Houston the day before and hung out with my Aunt Darla and Uncle Boyd. It was nice to catch up with them and to go out for some Texas BBQ. Although Dad kept telling me to shut school off even though Aunt Darla was the one picking my brain about a genetic disease some of her grandkids have.
The ship we sailed on was the Carnival Magic and it was huge!!! But the rooms are small!

This sucker is 12 stories tall!!!

Me and Grandma's cabin.

To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect when I got on the boat and the buffet was nothing like what I thought it would be! Holy food, Batman! I ate so much I was literally sick. I. Regret. Nothing. The buffet had a burrito bar and they had one of the best salsas I've ever had the privilege to put into my mouth. It was so good that I am still craving some three weeks later! If anyone has an awesome roasted tomatillo and jalapeno salsa recipe, please send it my way!
There is something very peaceful about being in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, completely surrounded by water. Not to mention it is beautiful to look at! I quite enjoyed just sitting in a deck chair reading or sitting at one of the tables on the Lido deck playing Pinochle. We played a lot of Pinochle this trip!

See! Beautiful!

I hauled Mom and Grandma on an exploration of the boat on the second day. Here is Mom with the ocean in the background.

And my Grandma with the ocean in the back!

I had a blast trying to guess what towel animal we would get every night. I never guessed right and some of the towel animals aren't easy to identify.

The first night was a sting ray!

A pig!

An elephant!

I think this one was a dog?!?

This one is either a duck or a duck-bill platypus. I'm going to go with the platypus because it sounds cooler.

A walrus! When I first saw this, all I could think was that I needed to send a picture text to Emily Clay. She loves walruses, but alas, I couldn't do it since I was in the middle of the ocean with no cell service.

The last night was a heart. Oh, did I mention that they left chocolates on the bed for you each night? Can you say awesome?

The cruise was a blast! The shore excursions were amazing! And to do them justice, I'm going to do a post on each excursion. Enjoy the towel animals of awesomeness until then!