Catching Up

Can't resist this face.

Loves her baths!

Blueberry muffins....yum

He likes to decide where and how he eats...

I love my goofball.

Quiche Lorraine...looked not so awesome, tasted like heaven.  Seriously.

Sorry, can't fingure out why these pictures keep coming up sideways...  Here he is brushing his teeth.  He does a remarkably good job - probably because he brushes them a really long time.

Completely amazing.

Going on a date

Maybe I'm mean, but I had to snap a photo.  He is definitely two.  You can tell by the fits.  :)

Andrew-ese

Andrew is really starting to talk quite a bit now.  It took him awhile, but he's definitely getting there!  He says the funniest things, and the cutest too.  :)

Andrew sings I am a Child of God a lot.  My favorite part is the chorus:

Leady, guidey, walk-a sidey.

Heppy fine a way.

Teachy all a do

A lif wif Him Someday.

Emily is no longer "Willy."  She is now "Eh-lo-we or Baby."

A few days ago he took this monster puppet around the house feeding it, putting it to bed, and letting me take pictures so he could hold it up to the camera and say, "Dare-de go, baby.  See a pishur."

 And....I included this next one in here because it seriously makes me laugh.  He was supposed to be napping, but when I went in to check on him, I quickly grabbed the camera and snapped some photos.  He had found one of Emily's headbands and decided to wear it.  I have a feeling he will hate this picture eventually.

 Andrew's friend Brady just turned one.  We weren't able to go to the party, but we did get a balloon, treat bag, and party hat (happy birthday hat) from the party. (Which was super sweet of you, Nat and Quentin!)  He was so excited about the balloon (ba-la-loo).   He ran through the house, wearing my hat, laughing and saying, "Hey Mommy!  Looky at my cool hat...and my ba-la-loo!"  This picture is blurry, but really really cute.

 He kept losing hold of the balloon.  He would grab his little stool to get it again while saying, "I getty!  I getty!"  Then when he got it again he would say, "I so HA-ppy!" and point to himself.   Before he went to bed he said, "So happy?" and pointed to me.  I said, "Yeah, I am SO happy.  And you want to know why?  Because you are my special, sweet, little guy."  He looked at me and smiled, and I realized that that really is true.  Being a stay at home mom comes with some challenges.  I have some days when I feel down, and can't wait until naptime.  My life isn't perfect, and I certainly am not.  But I have an absolutely wonderful family.  They are supportive, funny, sweet, and amazing.  My husband is wonderful, my little Emily is so sweet, and my little Andrew is my very favorite little guy in the world. 

So yeah.

  I so happy.

Food

These were amazing!  I got the recipe from http://annies-eats.com/2012/01/30/greek-quesadillas/.  Annies Eat's is a really good blog with beautiful pictures, and everything I've made of hers has been really yummy. 

Boston Creme Pie for my dad's birthday.  It took quite awhile to make it, but was totally worth it.  Yum.

I think I'm kind of giving up on my other blog, the food/organization/etc one. I can hardly keep up with this one, so I'll just do it all on the same one. Annnnyway. Yeah.

February so far...

Some pictures don't really need a caption.

Funniest brother...ever.

Yeah. That's syrup.  The picture can't quite do it justice.  I took Emily into the other room to change her diaper and didn't realize Andrew could reach the syrup bottle on the counter.  Life with Andrew is never dull.

Our power went out one night.  Andrew was really upset by it until we distracted him with flashlights, candles, and cheese.  We're working on him taking smaller bites....

Andrew has really started to be sweet to Emily.  He will say, "Oh, hiiii baaaaaaaaby." in this sweet loving voice and hug her.   Here he is kissing her head.  Then he let her play with his foot for about 5 minutes while he watched t.v.  She was in heaven.  They're both weird.

We've had a string of car/truck problems this month.  Mike had to fix the brakes in the truck, and we had to bring the car into the shop twice.  Let's hope that's it for awhile!

Sometimes I take a picture of myself, just to prove that I still exist.  Yep, there I am.



This one just cracks me up.  She loves to eat so much, and makes a huge mess.  She has gotten so big all of the sudden!

Our little photographer.  Never mind he's got it backwards, the kid's got potential! :)  Here he is at Lend and Learn saying, "Smile, balls!"

Confessions....

These are confessions of a non-scandalous nature.  (Not that I have any scandalous ones to share.  My life's good and boring like that.)

1.  I really don't particularly care for Dr. Seuss books.  I don't hate them, but I don't particularly love them.  I don't remember reading them much as a kid, and so maybe that has some bearing on it.
2.  I am a sucker for baby kisses.  Especially when the baby gives me a little I'm-proud-of-myself-and-I-know-how-cute-I-am smile...every time.
3.  I would like a night of non-interrupted sleep.  I haven't had that in 7 months and 18 days.  It's exhausting.  But she's worth it.
4.  I might be biased, but I think I have the best husband in the world.  I know some people don't like gushy husband talk, but I really love that guy.  He's definitely a keeper.
5.  I'm a hopeless romantic.  To the point where I will read young adult princess stories with plots you can see coming a mile away, knowing there will be sweet moments.  (Plus some of them are good.)  And a good romantic couple in a movie or t.v. show?  Forget about it.  Elizabeth and Darcy. (Pride and Prejudice)  Jim and Pam. (The Office) Anna and Mr. Bates. (Downton Abbey)  The couple from Up.  Sigh, I like those guys.  Just to name a few.
6.  I think the cello is the most beautiful instrument made by human hands.  Gorgeous.  Click on the link to hear some proof.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ_fkw5j-t0
7.  I truly think music is the link to the soul.  I remember asking my dad when I was younger why he listened to classical music.  He said, "I like it."  I totally didn't understand it until about 5 years ago.  That's basically all I listen to now.  I like other music, but....there are some songs that can express so much of what I'm thinking and feeling.  Amazing.
8.  I was abducted by aliens.  We ate crumpets and M&Ms and played Uno.  It was fun.  Seriously.  Okay, not seriously, but I was just wondering if you actually read a long, rambling post with no pictures.  If so, way to go!  You have more attention span than I do.

Lately...

The kids playing quietly.  It was such a phenomenon, I had to snap a photo.

The makings of a cobb salad.  Delicious.  We like eating healthy, especially when it tastes amazing like cobb salad.

Andrew loves to help me cook.  Here is he making his own concoction -  dry crushed up lasagna noodles, oregano, almonds, and floral tape.  My favorite picture we took of this is the one above - Andrew weighing an almond.

Where's Waldo...I mean, Emily.  She scoots all over the house, usually backwards.  When we're missing her, we just have to check the couches and chairs.  She's usually halfway under them.

Andrew decided to read a book to Emily.  It was so sweet, and almost made me cry.

Here's my boy looking in the mirror.  He loves himself.  I don't blame him.

Here's Emily ripping up our Ensign magazine.  Note to self:  Don't  leave any paper on the floor.  It will be destroyed.  And Emily will be very excited.

A Day at the Park

It has been ridiculously warm around here for the last week or so.  Monday was so warm we decided to go for a long walk and to go to the park.  We had lots of fun.

A Little Less You

This is a picture of my husband yesterday.  He has lost 28 pounds and is doing awesome! I've lost 9 pounds so far, which is also awesome.  And just for a little shock factor, here is an older picture of Mike and I in December 2008.

 

We both agree he kind of looks like a fan boy who just emerged from his mom's basement...because she made him.  He says he was probably ordering doughnuts online. Yikes.

To be fair, he was not this same size when he started losing weight this year.  But it's amazing what a little exercise and watching what you eat will do!

Good job, Sweetie!

Haircut

I have other pictures of my haircut on the other computer, but I'm too lazy to go get them, so.....here's the sideview of my haircut.  Mike and I take pictures occasionally so we can see progress in our weight-loss from the front and the sides of our faces.  That's why I look so thrilled.  :)  I like my haircut, although my hair doesn't lay well all the time.  It definitely has a mind of its own.  It's nice that Emily can't pull it as easily now. :)

Tiny Gal

 It's been quite awhile, so I decided it was time for an Emily update!  :)  She's growing up so fast!  She will be 7 months on Sunday.  That is so crazy!  In so many ways, she still seems like my tiny newborn, but in reality she is becoming a big girl. :)
  She is hilarious!  She has the most expressive face (see above) and always has us in stitches.  Right before she goes to bed at night, she gets extremely slap happy.  Anything and everything is funny to her, and she'll keep it up as long as you let her.  She's a sweet little thing.  She loves her blankies, and pulls up the one Grandma Barnard made for her against her face and nuzzles it on her cheek before bed.  It's so cute and sweet.  She is so interested in everyone and everything around her that it's hard to get her to eat sometimes.  I used to read while feeding her, but now that is too much of a distraction.  She eats baby food, but not much and not often.  She enjoys it, but isn't as interested in that as she is in, say, her brother.  Andrew is the coolest human being alive.  Just as Emmie.
  She had a doctor's appointment on the 9th and here are her stats:
                    Height - 26" (55%)
                    Weight -14 lbs 10 oz (25%)
  We just adore this tiny baby, and are so glad she's part of our family.  Now enjoy a million pictures.

Here she is doing pushups.  She really wants to move, but hasn't figured out how to yet.  She is getting good at spinning herself in circles, pushing herself back, and flipping over and over.  She hasn't figured out that she can roll to get where she wants yet, but I'm sure that will come soon.

Sitting.  She is so adorable.  And yes, she was strapped in.

The lighting on this is awful, but this is her scrunched up nose,  silly/slightly scary smile that she gives sometimes.

Sleepy baby eating breakfast

Drink it in, world.  Drink in the cuteness.

She's working on teeth, too, and so she is constantly biting on/sucking on her bottom lip.  She looks like someone who has their dentures out actually.  It's pretty hilarious.

She loves her mobile.  Toys are super exciting to her, and her mobile is one of her top favorites.

Wiggle-worm.  I think she's outgrown this seat.

Playing with friends

Coolest. Brother. Ever.

Slow and Steady

My New Year's resolution to get fit is going slow but steady.  For the most part, I have been very good about what I eat and have exercised every day but Sundays (or when other circumstances come up that are beyond my control like late meetings, etc).  Mike has lost quite a bit of weight.  I have not, but I've lost a little and have felt the effects of a healthier lifestyle, so that's awesome.  I'll let you know how I'm doing and when I hit my first milestone (my wedding weight).  I know you're on pins and needles.

Today I'm also hoping to get caught up on my blogs.  As Andrew is currently trying to push me off my chair and crying, I'm not sure how easy this will be.  We'll see.  :)