Our New House

No we didn't move! After 6 1/2 years in our home we decided to redo all of the flooring. (what we really needed was new carpet, but if you are putting in new carpet, you might as well update it all right?) So here is the new tile in our bathroom (old gray linolieum gone!); our new laminate flooring in the kitchen (gray linolieum and carpet gone!) and our new carpet. It is so soft compared to our old turf carpet. Nick and his dad did the tile and laminate which took almost two weeks and a couple of late nights, but we were ready for the carpet when they finally arrived, and they finished in one night (we thought it would take two nights.) The girls were tough cookies through it all because we were constantly sleeping or hanging out at other houses so we were not getting in the way. We also moved some furniture to the kitchen which meant lunch and dinner were served on a picnic blanket in other rooms. It was an adventure which I hope not to repeat in the near future; however, it has given our house a new, fresh feeling and I love that!

Simple Fun

Do boxes ever get out-dated? I remember playing outside in a huge box that alternated between my house and my car. I think that kept me busy for weeks until it fell apart. This box was from our new vacuumn and they probably would have played in it longer if the next day wasn't garbage day!

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.....

White Christmas

What perfect Christmas weather this year. It started to snow around 2:00pm on Christmas Eve and it continued until around 6:00pm. This is the first shoveling we have done and luckily Nick had picked up a snowsuit for Emma the week before so she got to help. She had a blast helping dad, making snow angels, and throwing snowballs at us through the window. Then, Christmas Day was bright, sunny, (really cold), and absolutely beautiful.

Brielle

My gorgeous younger daughter. She is 11 months old today and making me wonder where the last year has gone. The first couple months I am sure I was sleep-deprived (because you don't get to "sleep when the baby's sleeping" like you do with the first child). Then, came the period where she was content to stay in a swing or bouncy seat while I got things done. Now that she crawls, climbs stairs, and finds petrified mac n' cheese off the floor I feel like we go from one activity to another in 2.7 seconds. Brielle seems busier than Emma was and I don't know if it is because she watches Emma and wants to mimic her energy or if it is just harder to control this energy when you have a preschooler. She is still a "mama's girl" which I hope doesn't change when she realizes her daddy is better at playing around. She still will cuddle when she's tired and every now and then I let her nap in my arms so I can relish being a mom and remember the miracle of human life. We are extremely happy this week because we took her in for a weight check and she has reached 15 lbs!! Although she will eat pretty much anything we give her (except bread....she's a little too good for boring bread) she hasn't been gaining weight. I try to ease my mind by saying that everything else developmentally is on track, but sometimes I can't help compare her to the chubby babies. So my most recent photo of her has to be food related to show that she really eats. And you cannot deny how cute it is when they eat!!

An Oldie but Goodie

December 6th, 2007...a monumental day. My husband, Nick, turned 30! For those of us that are still making the climb to 30, it is easy to tease and laugh about this particular birthday. I don't think Nick was all that excited. Even though he had hinted at having a big celebration with a 6ft sub and lots of treats, I had hinted that I was too stressed to do a party in December. Little did he know what a good liar I was! So Nick pouted all week about how old he was feeling...and the night of his birthday was nothing out of the ordinary. We saw a movie with the girls and went to dinner by ourselves. But the NEXT day, I had big plans. I had sent out invitations a week earlier to family and close friends that I was attemping a surprise party. I had ordered a 6ft subway, a cake (photo above), and gathered chips, pop, and ice cream to celebrate. Everyone was to arrive when Nick was getting off work. He had wanted me to meet him in Layton to get some shopping done, but I had persuaded him to come home first. We waited...... anticipating his arrival.....my stomach had butterflies because I was so excited to see his reaction. When we heard the garage open, we ran to the family room. We waited......(he was scraping off his car).....he walked into a pretty dark house and slowly walked up the stairs. He caught a glimpse of his grandma and realized what was going on. By the top of the stairs, he had a huge smile on his red cheeks (from embarassment?). SUCCESS!! We totally shocked him. It was one of those moments when you know you have made your spouses day. The rest of the party was a blast! Hopefully, Nick will look back at this birthday and smile--but I better watch out because I think he wants to even the score!!