Thursday, December 22, 2011

Nativity and Dennis' visit

 In December we went to a live nativity in Alpine.  I have never been to one before; it was a lot of fun.  It was really cold so we bundled up and headed out with our good friends, the Dennys.  We had to wait in a long line (well the boys had to wait we took the kids into the church where it was warm) and then rode up to the farm in a horse trailer.
 Izzy loved it because there were animals.
 And more animals.
 Baby Jesus.  We told her that we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus' birthday.  So daily she wants to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus; it is pretty funny.
 Izzy and Owen eating cake batter.
 Dennis drove up with his girlfriend, Sara, to get his car from Kathryn.  They were only here for 1 1/2 days, but we managed to have a great time.  We went skiing at Snowbird and ate at Rodizios!
They headed out Sunday for their long (24 hr) drive back to Texas and we headed to church.  It was a great weekend!

Monday, December 12, 2011

gingerbread houses 2011

Last Saturday my friend, Jen, invited us to her mother's house to make gingerbread houses.  She said it was a tradition in her family.  She said I should bring some candy to decorate my house with, but everything else would be provided.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but thought it would be fun to hang out with Jen so I went.  This is what I showed up to:
 A table covered with candy, tables set up, gingerbread houses, frosting, Christmas music, and great company.  It was such a fun day; it's a tradition I want to start in my family.
 Jen's mom bought the houses at Costco, they came with frosting and candy.  But apparently that frosting isn't good enough nor is the candy.  They have their own special frosting recipe so the candy sticks really good.
 Izzy was in heaven.  She ate candy all day and played with Jen's nephews.
 Mike wasn't sure if he was going to come, but he was glad he did.  He had a great time.  He did most of the decorating of our house.
 Some of the gang.
 The back of the house
 The front of the house.  It turned out great! I had never done this before and had such a fun time doing it! Thanks Jen for the invite!

 Jen and I. Seriously she is the best ever!  We did our masters together at BYU even though we didn't really start hanging out toward the end of our program.  Then we worked at Provo Canyon together for three years.  She is the sweetest, nicest person ever! We have gone on lots of trips together, had many late nights playing games, and lots of texting! I didn't have unlimited texting when we became friends, but you have to have it if you are friends with Jen! When I first found out about Craig's death, I called Jen, I knew she would come over and stay with me til Mike got home from Denver. During all the hard times since then she has been there for me-calling me, sending me texts, inviting me to do things, making sure I'm okay.  Everyone needs a friend like her!!
 Since I was in the festive spirit, I got Izzy all dressed up and took her to see Santa on Monday at the mall.  Once again she was scared of Santa and the pictures didn't turn out very well. Maybe next year!
 Izzy and Owen riding the train.  Izzy loves Owen!  They are just a few months apart and she always wants to play with Owen, which is nice because I love to hang out with his mom, Kristy!
Her cute Santa outfit! I love this time of year and I'm so grateful for such great friends and family!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

I flew to DC with Christina, Mike's sister, and Izzy on Tuesday night.  We had a direct flight and Izzy slept for about 2 hours, which was really nice.  On Wednesday we hung out with Guillaume and Dana and then everyone else arrived Wednesday night.  
 On Thursday we went to see my cousins.  Kevin lives in Richmond and Keith flew in from Texas with his family.  I got Izzy all dressed in her Thanksgiving shirt, but then we decided not to take her because she isn't always the best in the car.
 It was so great to spend the day with my cousins.  There is nothing like family!  I was anticipating Thanksgiving to be difficult because it was the first one without Craig.  He always made the deep fried turkey, organized Dad's projects, entertained us with his sarcastic humor, and guard Dennis in the football game after we ate.  I was really sad Wednesday night; I guess it hit me that Craig would not be celebrating Thanksgiving with us again.  So it was really nice to be with family Thursday, talk about memories, and laugh.
Izzy had a great time playing with her cousins while we were gone.  I think we were happier to see her than she was.  Can't you tell?
We went bowling Thursday night.  Izzy even bowled a few times, but she preferred dancing and trying to get candy out of the machines.
After the Black Friday shopping we took the kids to a park.
All the kids loved playing with Matt.  Izzy loved hanging out with Benson too.  She called him Benson Potter; it was so cute! They played together so well. I am glad she got to spend time with her cousins.

We celebrated Christmas while we there.  Benson is so cute with his girls. 

Mami handing out the stockings to the grandkids.
The chaos of opening presents!  Izzy got a horse and barbie from Mami and she loves it! Every morning when she woke up she asked where it was.
At first, Izzy was more interested in eating than opening presents.
When we flew home my grandparents were here visiting.  They came in for my Grandma's sister's funeral.  I am so glad I got to see them!  They are amazing to me! 72 years of marriage and they are still going!!
And of course we played skip-bo!!  It was a great week.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family and are able to see them so often!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Mami and Papi visit

We were fortunate to have Mike's parents come visit the week of Izzy's birthday.  Izzy loved having them around. 
We went to Cornbelly's and they had a bunch of activities for Halloween. Izzy and Richard playing tetherball.
Izzy playing with her grandparents, Mami and Papi.
Izzy and Papi.
We had Izzy's birthday party a couple of days before Halloween.  It was nice to have Mami and Papi there to join in the celebration.
Saturday night we went to Gateway mall.  There was an area that sprayed water and Izzy and a great time running through it.
Izzy and Mami at Gateway.
Izzy and Papi running through the water.
Trying to miss the spraying water.
Our neighborhood had a trunk or treat and then a hot dog roast and apple cider. They weren't just any hot dogs, they had J-dawgs, so yummy!!
After the trunk or treating we did some door to door trick or treating too.  It was Izzy's favorite night.  She still talks about Minnie Mouse, trick or treating, presents, and Halloween.  It was one of her favorite days.  We are so glad that Mami and Papi got to share the fun times with us.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Izzy turns 2

Wow I can't believe it's been two years.  Izzy makes me laugh everyday. Here is some of her information

Stats-Weight-32 pounds (93%), height-36.6 inches (99+%) the nurse actually came in to remeasure,  and head circumference-20 inches (99+%).

Sleep Patterns-This summer she started climbing out of her crib, so she has been sleeping in a toddler bed since July.  She goes to bed at 8 and gets up around 8.  I love it because I sleep til 8 too!

Temperament-Typically she is pretty easy going. She loves to laugh and play. But she does not like to be told, 'No.' Depending on the day if she is told no she will have a full on temper tantrum.  She is sensitive.  This morning I was crying because I was thinking about Craig and how much I miss him.  She came in the room and said, "why crying mom?" She gave me a big hug, kiss, and wiped a tear away.  She is seriously the best for me!

Words-She has been speaking in sentences since this summer. Her first sentence was in June and she said, "I want eggs." She has always been great with words.  Some of my favorite are, "This is delicious," "Go Mom, I can do it myself," and when she says her prayers.

Foods-She loves pizza, quesadillas, grapes, green peppers, yogurt, cheese, popcorn, and juice.

Travel-She has been on 43 one-way flights.  Seriously, she is the best little traveler. Luckily I can't even think of a bad flight; she is an awesome flier. She has been to 17 states-some of the them are: Texas, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, New York, Florida, California, Colorado, and DC.

Personality-She loves to be with her friends. She is very outgoing and has a little spunk to her.  She knows what she wants and expresses herself very well.

Habits-A normal day for us: She eats yogurt for breakfast and talks about going to play with her friends during breakfast. Then we go to the gym and she plays with her friends. We get home play a bit, eat lunch and then she naps. After her nap we typically play with friends, go on a walk, or run errands. Then  Daddy gets home and the craziness begins. She loves when Daddy is home. We eat dinner, play, she gets a bath and is in bed by 8.

We love this little girl so much!! I feel so blessed to be her mother!

 She was so tiny, well I guess not really at 8 lbs 6 oz, but compared to 32 lbs now.
 So precious!
 Mike loves being crazy with her.
 She loved her little basket of toys.
 Still learning to stand.
 Izzy and Abi are so cute together.
 Her first Halloween
 First birthday.
 Izzy and Abi are so big now!
 Now she is into everything! Her favorite things are my clothes and shoes! My closet needs a door---it is always a mess thanks to Izzy. She pulls all the clothes off the hangers.
 The first summer we didn't worry too much about having a life jacket because she wasn't very mobile and couldn't get out of the boat. This past summer it was crucial.  She was crazy--trying to climb out of the boat!
Her second birthday.  Where does the time go??!!