Happy Birthday Brielle

My baby girl....not a baby anymore. Acutally, since she is still under 16 lbs I think I will still call her my baby. So Brielle's birthday was just over a week ago and it turned out great. I think we learned from Emma's 1st birthday that you can over-celebrate. So, we went swimming at the Aquatic center (the best activity for January). Brielle was pretty nervous at first, but once we sat her on the stairs she started splashing. After wearing them out we came home and while the girls napped we cleaned up, wrapped presents, and decorated her cake. We went to get her picture taken, grabbed dinner and then came home just in time for the guests to arrive. Brielle actually did pretty good at unwrapping presents. She usually had a cousin (or sibling) help her get the present started and then once it was unwrapped another cousin (or sibling) would take it from her so they could play. I guess that is just the life of the youngest grandchild. She had two pieces of her birthday cake (we had trained her on cake since about 9 mo old!) and a big scoop of ice cream (don't ask me why she is still less than 16 lbs). Her favorite present was probably a ball popper or a pink rocking chair. It was a fun mid-January celebration with no birthday meltdowns.....imagine that.

Long TIme, No Blog

The anticipation is over! I did not forget how to blog. I just got a little overwhelmed with the beginning of the new year. I think it is usually the opposite. January is normally a long, boring month with nothing but snow and freezing temperatures. But this year, I still have "Write New Years Resolutions" on my to-do list, which doesn't make much sense because New Years Resolutions are basically a to-do list anyway, right? Somehow, I thought if I thoughtfully prepared my resolutions and then wrote them down (in detail) that I would be able to accomplish them. Maybe subconsciously I have not written them down so I never have the chance to quit doing my resolutions....hmmmmm......good idea. But that is not the point. This month we have been busy with Brielle's 1st birthday, shoveling snow, tearing out all of the flooring in our house, shoveling snow, starting the year in a new ward, new time, new building, new callings, shoveling snow, taking care of coughing children, shoveling snow, planning our Disneyland trip, and shoveling snow. Some of these events I think I will be blog. Other events (like shoveling snow) I am sure we all know about. So let me catch up.....