Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we had a small program which consisted of lots of songs, a christmas story and then the annual nativity. Some of my nieces and nephews had made this amazing backdrop which was a great addition and they did such a good job with it.



Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.



The shephard and angel.



The three wisemen.



Growing up we always had a tradition of opening a christmas eve gift which was usually pajamas or slippers. So I had to throw in a picture with Addy in her first Christmas jammies!

Getting the tree

This was the first time I've ever gone out and chopped down a Christmas tree and it was a lot of fun. The snow was really deep so it was fun to watch the kids try and walk through it.
















Mitch was our trusted leader and as you may have guessed he tried really hard to sell us on chopping down the ugliest charlie brown tree that was in Island Park but we ended up finding another one that satisfied everyone.


















Nobody wanted to dig the tree out so I did!














Once everyone was on their way back to the truck we ended up chopping down the charlie brown tree as well.














When we got back to the cabin, we showed everyone who stayed back the charlie brown tree and pretended it was the actual tree and they pretended to be excited but were very relieved when we brought in the real one.














The kids had lots of fun making the tree ornamaents and then decorating the tree. This is the only picture I have of it and it is after santa has come (well mostly, there were a few straglers)

Fact...

My baby LOVES the bath!

Temple Square

This past weekend we went down to Utah for a cousin christmas party in American Fork. On the way down we stopped in Salt Lake and met up with some of my family, in fact I was finally able to meet my brothers girlfriend who is very cute. We didn't have much time so we just did a little wandering around the lights, took a couple pictures and got some dinner at Crown Burger (I love that place)!

Then we went to the party which was really fun. I got to meet a lot of Mitch's cousins and in fact he found himself a ticket to the BYU bowl game this coming weekend so he was THRILLED to say the least! The rest of the weekend we just hung out, did a little shopping and then watched the snow dump so we didn't make it back until Monday but at least we will be having a white christmas!!!


Notice how Mitch is trying to flip our child out of the stroller.




Addy loved looking up at the lights. Her eyes would go back and forth from side to side, it was very cute.

The Shoes

I got these cute baby shoes at one of my baby showers and I have been waiting for the day when they would fit and not just fall off. Well the day finally came and I was so excited because she looked so cute and they matched perfectly with this little outfit. Then Addy just kept fussing and I couldn't figure out what was wrong and so I was trying all sorts of things and then finally I took the shoes off and she stopped crying.



A little while later Mitch and I needed to run some errands so I put the shoes back on. She screamed the whole way to the store which was very odd for her. We get out of the car and she is still screaming so I take the shoes off and instantly she stops crying. Needless to say, the shoes went back into the drawer.


Until...today!!

Mitch was incharge of getting Addy dressed this morning because I was heading to Idaho Falls with him to do some shopping and he comes up the stairs with her and her shoes are on her feet and there are no tears. I was amazed and I thought by the time we go out the door she would be crying. I was wrong. She made it all through the shopping and everything and the only time she cried was when she was hungry. So that means the shoes can stay out of the drawer!!!


PS- As for our family picture above, yeah, we did that ourselves! It only took about two hours to get a decent picture and Mitch turned our front room into a little studio. Including moving all the furniture out of the way, rearranging the lighting to give us a softer tone, and taking about 20 different shots. But hey, we got a great picture and I didn't have to pay a professional.

innocence

I just couldn't resist posting these precious pictures.

Spontaneous Creativity

I have been wanting cute baby headbands for awhile now because I have a bald-headed baby and so sometimes it is hard to tell if she is a boy or a girl. Anyways, everytime I see ones that I like, they are just way to pricey for a headband so I always talk myself out of it.

Then the other day I was folding the laundry when the idea came to me that I should just make my own. I thought about using ribbon but knew that would never stay on for long because it wasn't stretchy. So then elastic pops into my head but that will just look goofy because I would have to cover it with fabric but what kind and am I really that skilled of a seamstress? probably not. While thinking through all of this, I pick up a pair of Addy's tights to fold...wala...TIGHTS!! they are stretchy and I definately wouldn't have to cover them with fabric because that just wouldn't work.

I quickly finish folding the laundry and start digging around trying to find an old pair of tights (they'd have to be old because I never wear them). I dig through the underwear drawer and in the back are an old pair of white tights. Actually, they looked brand new because I bet they only got worn once. I pull out the sewing machine and dig through some scrapbooking accessories and tada....this is what came from my spontaneous creativity!





Super cute baby headbands!! and the best part was, I didn't even have to spend a dime!

Thanksgiving in Arizona

This year for thanksgiving we decided to go to Flagstaff and visit my grandparents. We thought it would be a good time to go while Addy was still little enough that the drive wouldn't be so bad. And of course she was an angel baby, I really don't know how I got so lucky!!



On the way down we stopped and spent the night in St. George to help break up the trip and visit Marnie and the kids. Then we went the rest of the way on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun to spend time with all my family, accept my brother Tyler who is on his mission in Spain, and just relax and play together.




Addy slept through her first thanksgiving dinner and then woke up when we were cleaning up.


Thursday we had a great day of turkey and the mixins, a bowling tournament on the wii in which we all got a formal invitation. my grandma had a great comeback, where she got a "turkey" which is three strikes in a row, but she actually got four in a row and ended up tying my sister Chelsea for first place with a score of 202. We were all very impressed with her skills.


These were our invitations to the bowling.


Friday we obviously had to go shopping especially since my dad surprised us all with a little extra Christmas money!



Saturday was spent hiking around Sedona. This is always my most favorite part of the trip. The scenery is just gorgeous and the weather is sooo warm. It was a little different with a two month old but I do think Addy enjoyed herself and will want to go back.





Then Sunday we woke up early and hit the road so we could make the twelve hour drive back home.

Workman Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Apparently she looks more like me! I still don't believe it and when I have more time I will try this again with different pictures because I am sure that she looks more like Mitch.

My Two Favorites

ice cream: chocolate chip and cookie dough (mixed together they are delicious)
colors: green (have you seen my house) and purple
vacations: hawaii and chicago (still haven't been to new york or jamaica)
foods: spaghetti and enchiladas (yum)
holidays: halloween and christmas
stores: IKEA and wet seal

Well you get the idea but I have to say my absolute most favorite two things in the entire world and universe would have to be...




Aren't they just the cutest.

I love this picture because it makes Addy look so tiny and she has the sweetest look on her face. Too bad Mitch had to be talking to me, probably telling me to just take the picture, as I was taking it. Great timing. I still think he is cute too. The question is: Do you think they look alike?

Takin' it back...

...in time! Mitch decided it was time for some new music on our blog and so we went with a little bit of an 80's flare. He also showed me this video (posted above) awhile back and I thought it was so funny. It brought me back to the old high school dances and stomps! We totally did the shopping cart and lawn mower moves. Hopefully you get a little chuckle from it.

PS: Deborah, I totally think that Mitch and Tyler should do this for a ward talent show!!!

Two Months

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems that last month before Addy came dragged on forever and ever but ever since she has graced us with her presence the time has just flown by.



Her new developments for this past month include:
*smiling lots and lots especially when she sees faces and hears voices
*cooing and trying to talk (this is my absolute favorite)
*blows bubbles which I hope is normal
*found her fist and stuffs it into her mouth
*is starting to like rattles and toys and will stare at them for 5-10 minutes which seems like a long time for a baby
*LOVES the swing which is absolutely wonderful because I can now fix dinner and clean the house while she is very content
*has rolled over a total of 4 times but it is always sporatic and so I am sure this next month it will become more regular
*most nights she will sleep 6-8 hours straight which is TERRIFIC!!!

Once again I am sure that there is tonz more but for now that is what I can think of. And of course some pictures to show what I mean.



Pretty soon it will be more than just the fist that goes into the mouth.



The silly faces she makes for dad.


Starring intently at the toys.


She also got her shots yesterday and you can see how happy she was when we came back home :( It just breaks your heart but at least she got some cool tarzan bandaids!

With the face of an angel

We have had a very fun-filled weekend (plus a few extra days) with lots of family, food, games, shopping and well lots of laughs as usual. Thanks again to everyone who came up for the baby blessing it was great to see all of you. For those of you who were unable to make it, don't worry I took tonz of pictures. How can you help it when everyone says your little girl looks just like a doll?






This was a very special day for us. One that I have been waiting for for a very long time. It was weird because it was one of those things that made me realize just how hard it was for me to watch other people bless their babies when I was so desperately wanting one for my own. Back then I didn't realize how hard it was because I would just push it deep down but sitting in church on Sunday while Mitch was blessing Addisyn brought all those feelings back and I couldn't believe it was finally my turn. And for all of you still wanting and waiting to have kids you may or may not have the same sort of experience but wow it will still be an amazing day. It is crazy to think of how precious little babies are, not just to us but also to our Heavenly Father. They just so recently left his presence and I know that he is just looking over them. Hopefully I can do my part as a mom and teach her all she needs to know and do to return back to him someday. Yes, the song "I am a child of god" has a whole new meaning to me.

So back to these beautiful pictures.

This is the dress I made while in college and taking a child sewing class. At the time I was dating Mitch and so he would come sit with me in the sewing lab while I worked on it. I had to make a few alterations because it was ginormous on her but overall I am very impressed with myself!


Aunt Lindsay made this stuffed bunny by hand and it is so adorable.



Everyone who made it up except for Ben and Gail who had to leave early.


And of course a family picture.