Happy Belated Birthday Bryce!

Saturday was my brother Bryce's birthday. I think he turned 29 :). It's hard for me to remember him as the "mean" brother because we're such good friends now. Bryce has always been the best at whatever he does. And if he's not, he doesn't do it! He's so much fun to be around, and always leaves you wanting more of him. We had babies 12 days apart almost a year ago, and it's been fun relating to each other as new parents. For someone who never liked kids much growing up, he sure loves his little buddy. Briggs is lucky to have him as a dad. Almost 3 years ago he was in a snowboarding accident and I was unfortunate enough to witness it. I'm crying right now thinking about it. It was amazing to see his faith and humility when we weren't sure what was going to happen. When miracles did happen, we were changed forever. I love you Bryce and I'm so happy things are going so great in your life: wonderful wife, successful new business, new house, cutest little boy ever!

10 Months

What Maddie's up to at 10 Months:

• Climbing stairs
• Taking her first steps
• Pointing at everything
• Taking 2 great naps a day and sleeping all night
• Imitating so many words and understanding what they mean
• Saying: mama, dada, papa, byebye, uh-oh, no, apple, Jessie, thank you, hello, hi, num nums, nana, ball, meow
• Shakin it whenever she hears music
• Getting into drawers and cupboards
• Having fun playing with other kids and playing outside
• Trying to sing along, esp. at church
• Giving a cheesy, toothy grin
• Knowing that she's being funny
• Belly laughing when tickled
• Jumping on me when daddy brings her in in the mornings
• Giving kisses and loves

Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my whole family. I learned that there's nothing better than having all 10 adults and 4 babies under the same roof for a week, chaos and all. Our family has grown so much the past few years. JD and I feel so lucky to have sister and brother in laws that really are our best friends! Anyways, I'll give the short version of what we crammed into the time we had together. Before Thanksgiving the girls saw Twilight together of course, and the boys snuck off to play tennis and golf. The kids loved having each other to play with. Maddie adores Kamryn, and followed her and Briggs around all week. Dylan is still the little guy, but was interested in everything that was going on.

Thanksgiving morning we all ran a 5k. It was a perfect ending to our "Biggest Loser/ Fitness challenge." Then we went home and stuffed our faces with deliciousness. It was sooo good! Jessie's homemade rolls were my favorite. Guess she did learn something in college :). We were too busy eating that we didn't even get a picture of the food! Bummer.

If you know my family, you know we love to play, and love to compete even more. So between the race, tennis tournament, rummikub tournament, and golf for the guys, we were satisfied.

My dad got us all tickets to Mary Poppins in LA. We left the babies with sitters and took Kami. She stayed awake the whole time and felt like such a big girl. Here's our studly men:

And the girls:

The whole gang.
More Highlights: Funny pedicure experience, Briggsie walking, Shopping at Target, Finishing our countdown blocks (thanks Whitney!), Kami's comments about certain body parts, Maddie's newest word "No," Beating mom and dad in tennis, Dylan's smiley face, Cinnamon rolls, Kids playing in the back yard...

I know that I have so much to be thankful for. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for our health, for our jobs, for the gospel, for my sweet baby, for the situation we're in, and especially for my husband and our families. Hope you had a great day. Now it's time to focus on Christmas! Where did November go?!?

Sad Day

I've been dreading this day for a very long time.

I'm afraid this may be the end to one of mommy's favorite obsessions.

Visits

I'm way behind on my blogging. The last few weeks have come and gone so fast and we've done so much that I think I've felt too overwhelmed to try to blog about it all. So I've picked one thing to focus on, and hopefully I can keep up from now on. Doubt it :). Anyways, a few weekends ago we went up north to visit my brother Eric and his family. We celebrated Kami's 3rd birthday, Halloween, and baby Dylan's blessing. They sure know how to throw a party! Here's our Maddie girl all ready to get on the plane.

This guy comes home to me every night looking like this. What a babe.
I loved meeting my newest nephew. He's got gorgeous blue eyes and is so tiny compared to Maddie. I've forgotten how to take care of a newborn!
Me and the birthday girl: AKA the "Wicked Witch." She really wanted to be Malificent, but there were no costumes her size. I love her!
The proud parents who made it happen. Thanks for the fun weekend!

Getting ready to Trick or Treat.

Sweet baby Dylan's blessing.

It's always fun to hang out with the Long's. They're the best!
A week later Sam and Eric came down to visit us. The girls went to So You Think You Can Dance while the guys watched the babies. Eric was alone with the 3 of them for a couple hours before JD and Papa got home from work, and we were a little worried, but he survived.

We had so much fun re-living last seasons best dances, and we even met Mary Murphy!!! She just stood there like a wax statue, but I think it was better that she didn't open her mouth :).

I had to work one day, so Sam and my mom took the kids to Pretend City in Irvine. They said the girls loved it and were entertained for hours. I can't wait to take Maddie back.

Ya, they played hard.

Dylan is such a little trooper. He pretty much slept the whole time wherever we went.

Of course we had to go to the beach so Eric could surf. It was a little cold in the morning, but warmed up and turned out to be a beautiful day.

It's so cute to watch Maddie play with her cousins. She loves them all!

I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Having little ones around makes everything more fun!

9 Months

Love Bugs

Happy Halloween!!!

Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Target

1) I never have nothing to do- I think the babe quite enjoys her rides in the shopping cart on our outings.
2) It caters to my every need- wardrobe, snacks, home decor, gift wrap, baby junk, etc., etc,.

3) The sale racks rock.4) They have the cutest baby girl clothes.
5) I spend close to $100 every time I step into that store, but I don't ever really feel guilty about it. (Necessities, right?)

New outfit: Courtesy of Target.

New trick: Figured that one out on her own.

Life in the 95th Percentile

This girl loves to eat. Every meal is an experience for her. She prefers to feed herself.

She has to examine every morsel before it goes in her mouth. (She gets that from me).

This is her "cute" face. Don't know where it came from.
Sometimes she's not sure about the texture.

Sometimes she just doesn't like the taste.

Sometimes it's so bad it makes her gag.

But as long as she can wash it down with her beloved sippy cup, she's a happy girl.

Autumn

I absolutely love this time of year. October always brings with it a certain crispness in the air, and a smell that I think I only started recognizing when living in Utah. Fall there is so beautiful and vibrant. I came to love the changing leaves and chilly weather. I think I'm really going to miss that. But the other day while walking out to my car I caught a whiff of Fall, and realized I'll still get a milder California version. Plus I don't have to dread scraping my windshield and feeling claustrophobic all winter. Visiting the snow will be much better for me than living in it.

I was so excited to put Maddie in this outfit from Janie and Jack. I thought it looked fitting for the season. When I'm rich and famous, I'm buying one of everything they sell. Now every time I go to the mall I just wander into the store and stare longingly at all the intricate little details. Then I browse the sale rack, occasionally buy one thing, and walk out convincing myself that silk and cashmere don't stand a chance against blueberries and green beans.

I'm afraid I have a really bad case of the "new mom syndrome." I'm starting to realize that I really don't talk about anything but my baby. When I shop, I gravitate towards itty bitty shoes and sweatsuits instead of much needed clothes for me. It's probably a natural thing every mom goes through, being that your focus turns entirely to this new little person, but I'm sure it gets annoying. She is the most exciting thing going on in my life right now, as I marvel at how she changes every day. Plus, I've gotten used to being looked passed as she's become the center of the universe. But I'll try to talk about some other aspects of my identity for a sec.

I've been in a crafty mood lately. All I want to do is make cute Halloween stuff to give to other people: Spooky Cookies in a Jar, Frankenstein Rice Krispy Treats, Dresses with "Boo" fabric. Why? So weird. Anyways, I don't really have time to do all the things floating around my brain. Work takes up 24+ hours a week, but it has really been such a perfect job. I love working in the ER, I love having a skill that I can help others and help save money, I love that it's 5 minutes away, and I love being able to leave Maddie with the best sitters in the world! (Her Grammies).

Every day I feel so happy and blessed to be in the situation we are in. I know we are right where we need to be. (Although I'm not sure my parents realized this is what they'd get when they wanted so desperately to be closer to kids and grandkids :). We now live very close, right down the hall as a matter of fact. We are grateful that they've let baby stuff take over their house. But I know they love waking up to see this face every morning. Who wouldn't? Happy Fall.