I love my Daughter

Katie: Mommy! I have to go to the bathroom
Me: Do you need help?
Katie: No, I am going to poo
Me: Alright.
Katie: You better get out of here because it is going to get stinky in here.

A Wedding

Congratulations to Joseph and Paulette LeMieux!

We're happy for you and wish you the very best.

Disney Land!

1st Trip to Disney Land (at least for Katie and me). Justin has been several times, and we left Gracie with Aunt Suzanne. So fun. It was almost too much for Katie to handle. She just wanted to be everywhere at once.

Katie's Disney Experience:
Favorite Ride: Autotopia with Uncle Garrett
Favorite Thing to Do: Meet the characters. Loved the princesses of course...
Most Magical Moment: Mickey Mouse dancing with her and kissing her hand.
Favorite Princess Moment: Meeting Ariel
Favorite outfit: Emily, Justin's sister, made Katie a Cinderella dress to wear to Disney land...she will hardly take it off long enough to sleep...it's filthy now and I need to wash it, but she won't leave it off long enough for me to wash it.
Favorite Quotes from Katie: "I want to be IN that show." (at the end of the parade)
"I want to find Ariel and take her back to the castle with me."

My Disneyland Experience:
Favorite Ride: It's a Small World
Favorite Thing to Do: Watch Katie meeting the characters
Most Magical Moment: Watching my exhausted child dancing to the parade music, not wanting the fun to end.
Favorite Time with Justin: Riding Autotopia together.

I wish we had been a little more prepared for Disney and planned a little better, but it was a great experience. And I am glad we went. The very best part was watching my little one have dreams come true.

Bott Beach Bash 2011

Justin's family had a reunion last week. We had a blast on the beach. Katie told someone yesterday "My mom calls me her little beach bum." And she was. From 6:00 am until dark she was out in the sand. The first words out of her mouth every morning: "Can I go outside and play in the sand?"

It was so great to get to know Justin's family a little better, and meet some relatives I hadn't met before. What a wonderful family!

"Out of the Best Books"

I love to read.

I love to learn.

I love the library.

I haven't done much reading in the last year due to my high maintenance children and my inability to read in moderation. Once I start a book, it's hard to keep me out of it...So I have been refraining from this favorite indulgence. However, in the last couple months I have had questions about all sorts of things. The library hardly ever fails me so that's where I turned. In the last two months I have read all about:

1. Interior Design
   
2. Kids Crafts
3. The glycemic index
4. abdominal exercises
5. housekeeping
6. parenting
   

I have several books on hold to teach me several other things. I have been learning so much lately and it has felt great. It's like being back in school without the assignments and tests. How invigorating it has been for me to learn something new every day. And who knew I would find some answers to prayers in a book about home make overs!
Love, love, love the library. What a wealth of information. Now that most of my questions are answered, I'm going to find a novel to enjoy. Any suggestions?

So now it's your turn. What have you been wanting to learn about? What are you learning about now? What are you reading? What do you want to read?

Gracie's Birthday

Bubbles, Balloons, and Birthday Cake!

Gracie's birthday cake was my first attempt at fondant frosting. I was pleased with how it turned out. Katie enjoyed helping me cut out the circles and flower. I foresee many fondant cakes in our future. Grace was excited about her cake until she tasted it....she's not a huge fan of bread-like textures, but Katie more than made up for Gracie's disinterest. We had a great day with Gracie despite all of our belongings packed and a little stress about moving.

See Gracie Grow

Born Aug 12, 2010

Blessed October 10, 2010

4-9 months

9-12 months

I'm trying my best to not be emotional about this, but seriously, is she one already? It seems like yesterday I was begging and begging Heavenly Father to just let her be born already, and now she is turning one. My heart is just aching to hold onto this little ray of sunshine and not let her grow up. Reaching milestones is a bittersweet experience, but this time, I think I am tasting the bitter a little more....Slow down, Time. I need more time with my little girl.

Catch Up

1. Katie pretending to be a dog eating dog food
2. Toni and Katie at La Plata Canyon enjoying smores
3. Katie at Aztec Ruins
4. Father's Day
5. Mesa Verde National Park

Most of these pictures are from my family reunion. SO FUN. Afew are from spending Independence Day in Mancos, CO with Justin's family, probably the best place to spend the holiday. It's a very small town, and everyone sits in the park together and they light the fireworks right there in front of everyone. Lots of music and fun. A couple pictures are from a day at the park. We go to the park nearly every day, and we would die without it. Gracie just learned to go down the slide, and Katie finally got brave enough to enjoy swinging. Now I can hardly get her off it. The last few weeks have been so much fun they have just flown by. We got to enjoy a visit from Justin's mom for a few weeks, and we miss her already.
Yesterday was our latest adventure, going swimming and fishing at Navajo Lake State Park. We had to park at the top of a rocky hill, and then climb down carrying the girls, and all our stuff. And at the bottom of the hill, Justin's flip flop broke. So when the time came to climb back up, Justin climbed back up with one flip flop and one bare foot, carrying Katie and a back pack. But it was a fun day. It was good to cool off in the lake and swim around. When we were starting to head back up, a deer came walking down the other side of the hill. It was cool to see one right there just a few yards from us.