Christmas festivities
13 hours ago
Friday, January 29, 2010
What To Do?!?
Okay, something rare is happening today. I just realized that I have absolutely nothing to do today. I'm all caught up on laundry, even that never-ending ironing pile is gone, the house is clean, the floors are mopped (this rarely happens at my house) and we don't have any commitments to take care of. How often does it happen that there is simply nothing that has to be done. Sure I have lots of projects that I should probably work on (such as painting my bedroom or the munchkins bathroom, adding pictures to all those frames I just hung in the stairway, etc) and crafts that I want to start for Valentine's day, but the truth is my munchkins are sick again and so they have both been in the mood to snuggle. What's a momma to do? I think I'm going to go snuggle for the day.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
A Post for the Grandparents
It seems like I haven't done a post of Ella and Cameron in a while and so I thought "why not"? So this post is for Ella and Cameron's grandparents and any aunts or uncles or even cousins that want to see what they are up to these days. Both are getting so big.
Ella's vocabulary has just exploded and she is talkin' up a storm. She's coming up with some funny mannerisms such as glancing sideways when she's contemplating what to answer to a question, saying "yes" a lot, she has started telling us that she loves us all the time - oh my heck, I have to say this is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life; it just gives me warm fuzzies all over, she loves her brother and wants to give him hugs and kisses all the time and she is starting to get a little better about sharing toys with him even when it's her baby doll. Of course, the stubborn and bossy side of her little first born personality is coming out quite a bit these days. She really likes to tell Andrew and I to "stop talking" when she feels like we are talking to each other too much. She has even gone up to Andrew and put her hand over his mouth as well as pinched his lips shut to get him to stop talking. This has of course resulted in numerous timeouts. When Cameron is crying, which is quite a bit these days, she screams at him to "stop crying baby". I've even heard her tell him to shut-up once. I'm thinking that she's watched Madagascar way too much lately. I had to explain to her that she can't tell people to shut-up. She is so smart too. She LOVES to read books and has even memorized her favorites. She has three books that she can read to you. One is this little ladybug counting book, the second is "I'm Going On A Bear Hunt" and the third is "A Giraffe and A Half". She read A Giraffe and A Half almost word for word. One of these days I need to remember to get out the camcorder when she's reading it. Yesterday she started reading "I'm Going On A Bear Hunt" when I was cleaning in her toy room. It was seriously cute! I couldn't believe she could read so much of it. After reading she kept telling me that she was going on a bear hunt with her kitty, so I just told her to be safe. When I asked her if she found a bear she said yes and told me that it was a pink teddy bear she found.
Cameron is getting so big as well. I can't believe that he is almost eight months old already. He had his first tooth break through this last Tuesday and the tooth next to it is trying desperately to pop through as well. So he has been quite fussy and drooly these days. This last week he has surprisingly been sleeping really well though. There were several nights in a row that he slept completely through the night. He is trying so hard to crawl as well. He scoots all over the place by rolling and stretching to get what he wants and he has gotten on his knees a few times, but no crawling yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time. He has started eating more baby food now. He really only likes my homemade applesauce and pear sauce and he tolerated the sweet potatoes and squash pretty well, but any other fruits as well as carrots or any green veggie he just doesn't care for. In fact when you try to feed him something he doesn't want he clamps his mouth shut and just pushes your hand away from him. I'm really hoping that once he can eat real food that he'll be up to eating different foods, because this is ridiculous. I know that we were spoiled with Ella eating anything under the sun, but seriously child, I can't nurse you forever. As much trouble as he likes to give us though, he is still one of the most adorable little boys I've ever seen. He is such a mommas boy too, so that is kinda cute. And even though he really likes to be ornery more than necessary, his sweet and happy personality is starting to show through a lot more the older he gets so we're quite happy about that.
In other news Andrew was offered a new job two weeks ago and decided to take it so he started at his new firm yesterday. So far he is really happy with this new job and he's quite excited for this new opportunity. He of course was really sad to leave his old firm. They were really good to him and they all really liked him, but in the end he just didn't feel like he could pass up this great opportunity. So we'll see how it goes in the coming months and hopefully he'll still feel like he made the right decision.
I've just been super busy at home with the munchkins and home projects. Since last Tuesday was Andrew's last day at his old firm and he was home the rest of the week and I got to finish off some projects here at home while he was more than happy to entertain the munchkins. All of the paint trim is finally finished throughout the house, pictures are hung up in the hall and stairway, the Christmas decorations finally got put away, and a few little areas that needed some decorating love have finally received some attention. All in all I'm very happy with the progress that I made. Now I'm working on finding the perfect paint colors for our bedroom and bath as well as the munchkins bath.
Ella's vocabulary has just exploded and she is talkin' up a storm. She's coming up with some funny mannerisms such as glancing sideways when she's contemplating what to answer to a question, saying "yes" a lot, she has started telling us that she loves us all the time - oh my heck, I have to say this is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life; it just gives me warm fuzzies all over, she loves her brother and wants to give him hugs and kisses all the time and she is starting to get a little better about sharing toys with him even when it's her baby doll. Of course, the stubborn and bossy side of her little first born personality is coming out quite a bit these days. She really likes to tell Andrew and I to "stop talking" when she feels like we are talking to each other too much. She has even gone up to Andrew and put her hand over his mouth as well as pinched his lips shut to get him to stop talking. This has of course resulted in numerous timeouts. When Cameron is crying, which is quite a bit these days, she screams at him to "stop crying baby". I've even heard her tell him to shut-up once. I'm thinking that she's watched Madagascar way too much lately. I had to explain to her that she can't tell people to shut-up. She is so smart too. She LOVES to read books and has even memorized her favorites. She has three books that she can read to you. One is this little ladybug counting book, the second is "I'm Going On A Bear Hunt" and the third is "A Giraffe and A Half". She read A Giraffe and A Half almost word for word. One of these days I need to remember to get out the camcorder when she's reading it. Yesterday she started reading "I'm Going On A Bear Hunt" when I was cleaning in her toy room. It was seriously cute! I couldn't believe she could read so much of it. After reading she kept telling me that she was going on a bear hunt with her kitty, so I just told her to be safe. When I asked her if she found a bear she said yes and told me that it was a pink teddy bear she found.
Cameron is getting so big as well. I can't believe that he is almost eight months old already. He had his first tooth break through this last Tuesday and the tooth next to it is trying desperately to pop through as well. So he has been quite fussy and drooly these days. This last week he has surprisingly been sleeping really well though. There were several nights in a row that he slept completely through the night. He is trying so hard to crawl as well. He scoots all over the place by rolling and stretching to get what he wants and he has gotten on his knees a few times, but no crawling yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time. He has started eating more baby food now. He really only likes my homemade applesauce and pear sauce and he tolerated the sweet potatoes and squash pretty well, but any other fruits as well as carrots or any green veggie he just doesn't care for. In fact when you try to feed him something he doesn't want he clamps his mouth shut and just pushes your hand away from him. I'm really hoping that once he can eat real food that he'll be up to eating different foods, because this is ridiculous. I know that we were spoiled with Ella eating anything under the sun, but seriously child, I can't nurse you forever. As much trouble as he likes to give us though, he is still one of the most adorable little boys I've ever seen. He is such a mommas boy too, so that is kinda cute. And even though he really likes to be ornery more than necessary, his sweet and happy personality is starting to show through a lot more the older he gets so we're quite happy about that.
In other news Andrew was offered a new job two weeks ago and decided to take it so he started at his new firm yesterday. So far he is really happy with this new job and he's quite excited for this new opportunity. He of course was really sad to leave his old firm. They were really good to him and they all really liked him, but in the end he just didn't feel like he could pass up this great opportunity. So we'll see how it goes in the coming months and hopefully he'll still feel like he made the right decision.
I've just been super busy at home with the munchkins and home projects. Since last Tuesday was Andrew's last day at his old firm and he was home the rest of the week and I got to finish off some projects here at home while he was more than happy to entertain the munchkins. All of the paint trim is finally finished throughout the house, pictures are hung up in the hall and stairway, the Christmas decorations finally got put away, and a few little areas that needed some decorating love have finally received some attention. All in all I'm very happy with the progress that I made. Now I'm working on finding the perfect paint colors for our bedroom and bath as well as the munchkins bath.
Munchkins Bathroom
So a couple of weeks ago I finally got up the nerve to strip the wallpaper in the kids bathroom and I've been wanting to paint over the horrid shade of mustard yellow in there. Unfortunately, I haven't done so yet because, well, like my master bedroom I'm just really having a hard time coming up with a definite plan. There are so many different ideas that I like, but nothing had really struck me, until now. When considering the munchkins bathroom I have to think about a few things. First, this bathroom has to be gender neutral. If it was a little girls bathroom or a little boys bathroom I wouldn't have a problem, but my children have to share and so I really wanted something gender neutral. Second, I want something fun and playful for a kids bath, but I don't want to go with a juvenile theme. I want guests to be able to use this bathroom without feeling like they just stepped into the latest cartoon. And third, I really want this to be a nice bathroom that the kids can grow with for the next few years at least. I don't want to have to re-decorate this bathroom because it's looking dated. I want something a little modern, but fun and playful for my munchkins. So are you just dying to see what I've come up with?!? Well here is the shower curtain that I found. Isn't it adorable? I just love it. Ella loves it and I'm sure that Cameron will love it too. Both my kids love being outside and enjoying nature and so this is just perfect for them. I love the colors and the fun sort of modern print. Ella really loved the owls and squirrels on the fabric. So hopefully I'll have the bathroom done by next weekend and I can have a big reveal for you.
Friday, January 22, 2010
The Hallway Revealed
Since moving into our home last May I've been working on changing all of the paint colors. So far I've managed to paint both kids rooms, the guest bath and the main floor living areas which include the living room, the sitting room, the kitchen and dining room. This last week I finally painted the upstairs hallway. I'm so excited to show you the hallway. I've been wanting to paint stripes somewhere for a long time and I decided that the hallway was the perfect place to do this. It looks amazing! I've got a few pictures hung up, but I still have more to hang so once I'm done with that I'll post more pics, but this is what I have so far. Enjoy!
Wasn't the mauve color just lovely?!?
I really couldn't wait to get rid of it.
The only places left with mauve on the walls are the master bedroom and bathroom and I can't wait to paint those two rooms. That project is currently in the works.
I love the stripes!!!
I love these pictures of my munchkins!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Master Bedroom Part 1 - The Plan
Okay, like I mentioned before, I'm planning on finally decorating our master bedroom. I'm so excited about this and I can't wait to have it done. My deadline is Valentine's Day and since I would really like to surprise Andrew with this I've got to figure out a way to play it cool. I've already told him that I'm going to paint our room since I cannot reasonably think that I would get the painting and decorating done in one day while he was at work. Our bedroom has vaulted ceilings and it is going to take me forever to paint I'm afraid, especially with the munchkins at home. I do think though that if I have everything ready to go that I can get the decorating part done in a day. So here is my game plan:
-New upholstered headboard (we currently have nothing because Andrew hated my beautiful iron bed frame)
-New bedding - I'm really not sure what to do about this. I found some beautiful bedding on amazon.com, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much money. I haven't seen anything else though that I'm super impressed with. I guess I'll continue searching and if I don't find anything else I'll order the one from amazon.com.
-New paint - I'm not sure if I want to go with a slightly darker brown color or a lighter tan color (I really don't like the mauve that the previous owners had on the walls)
-Hang window treatments - I found some beautiful window treatments at Target a few months back on clearance for $4.95 a piece. I was absolutely thrilled since I had been eyeing these for a while. I got six panels in a gorgeous pewter blue color and one in a chocolate brown. I only need four panels for my windows. I'm contemplating what to use the other two for and I think I'll use the chocolate brown for the headboard.
-I would love to hang a pretty chandelier in our room instead of the lovely track lighting that is currently there, but I certainly don't trust myself to do it and I really don't think my hubby would do it even if I asked nicely. He isn't such a fan of chandelier's... I know, I know, it's horrible! Things I should have found out before marrying him. :) Maybe a certain friends husband would be willing to do it if I were willing to help paint their kitchen... wink wink, hint hint. Oh, I can't even imagine Andrew's face. It gives me a good chuckle just thinking about it.
-Decorate. Simple right? Well I've been slowly collecting things here and there, so I'm just hoping that when it comes time to put it all together that it will come all together. I have art work, a beautiful mirror, crystal vases just waiting for some flowers, candles and a few miscellaneous decor items. Here's to hoping.
So now that I've written out my plan I suppose I should start putting it into action.
Here are some beautiful and inspiring photos that I've been looking at while trying to make my game plan. Enjoy!
-New upholstered headboard (we currently have nothing because Andrew hated my beautiful iron bed frame)
-New bedding - I'm really not sure what to do about this. I found some beautiful bedding on amazon.com, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much money. I haven't seen anything else though that I'm super impressed with. I guess I'll continue searching and if I don't find anything else I'll order the one from amazon.com.
-New paint - I'm not sure if I want to go with a slightly darker brown color or a lighter tan color (I really don't like the mauve that the previous owners had on the walls)
-Hang window treatments - I found some beautiful window treatments at Target a few months back on clearance for $4.95 a piece. I was absolutely thrilled since I had been eyeing these for a while. I got six panels in a gorgeous pewter blue color and one in a chocolate brown. I only need four panels for my windows. I'm contemplating what to use the other two for and I think I'll use the chocolate brown for the headboard.
-I would love to hang a pretty chandelier in our room instead of the lovely track lighting that is currently there, but I certainly don't trust myself to do it and I really don't think my hubby would do it even if I asked nicely. He isn't such a fan of chandelier's... I know, I know, it's horrible! Things I should have found out before marrying him. :) Maybe a certain friends husband would be willing to do it if I were willing to help paint their kitchen... wink wink, hint hint. Oh, I can't even imagine Andrew's face. It gives me a good chuckle just thinking about it.
-Decorate. Simple right? Well I've been slowly collecting things here and there, so I'm just hoping that when it comes time to put it all together that it will come all together. I have art work, a beautiful mirror, crystal vases just waiting for some flowers, candles and a few miscellaneous decor items. Here's to hoping.
So now that I've written out my plan I suppose I should start putting it into action.
Here are some beautiful and inspiring photos that I've been looking at while trying to make my game plan. Enjoy!
I absolutely love this room. I think I'm going to go with a similar color on my walls, I want dark furniture like this, the window treatments I've chosen are practically the same color and I would love to be able to go with white bedding. This room is just so soothing and peaceful.
I cannot remember where I found this photo, but I love this room. That bed just makes me want to climb on in and get cozy.
This is the bedding that I've been eyeing on amazon.com. Isn't it gorgeous?!? Again, it makes me want to climb right in.
I found this bedding at Bed Bath and Beyond, but it was definitely way more than I was willing to pay. I keep wondering if I should attempt to replicate it. I don't know. That's a lot of work. I'm also not sure if I want a solid color or a print. What do you all suggest?
I can't remember where I found this photo either. So bad I know. It was just in my folder. Anyways, I love that headboard. I don't want mine quite as tall, but I love the color, the fabric and the tufting.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Welcome Baby Tessa!
Last Monday my sister gave me my first niece. I'm so excited. Miss Ella Bella has been the only girl among the three boys for far too long. Thanks Brittany! Baby and mom are both doing great and mom is recovering nicely. I'm so excited to meet her.
Tessa Emercyn Lea McClure
January 11, 2010
8 lbs 6 oz 21 inches
A Week Full of Projects
Okay, I'm sorry that I've been a little MIA lately, but I'll be honest, I've had a serious creative block since Christmas. I can't believe I'm saying this, but not only have I not wanted to blog, but I haven't even been interested in perusing others blogs. Gasp! There, I said it. Please don't hate me. Anyways, I'm back and feeling much better. In fact I was feeling so much better about this last week when a friend asked me to come over so she could pick my brain for some projects she wanted to do. When she took my advice to take down some wallpaper it inspired me to come home and attack the wallpaper in the kids bath. And guess what?!? I had it off in 1/2 an hour. Now I just need to decide on a paint color. Good thing both Lowes and Home Depot have paint on sale this weekend. I know where I'm heading this afternoon.
Then on Monday night Andrew took Ella to a basketball game and Mr. Handsome went to bed early so I had the evening to myself. I was feeling quite motivated at that point so I measured out all the stripes for a soon to be revealed space. On Tuesday and Wednesday I got all the stripes painted and I just need to say that it looks amazing. Now I'm busy hanging stuff on the wall. I'll reveal that space this week so keep checking back. On Saturday I was planning on finishing off all the trim work in the main part of the house while Andrew was home with the munchkins, but I didn't really think it through when I stored the paint in the shed because when I opened it it had frozen solid. Needless to say, I'm a little peeved over my stupidity because I've waisted several gallons of great paint colors, some of which I had plans for. Oh well, live and learn I suppose! I guess I'll be finding a place in the house to store paint from here on out.
So I'm hoping to pick out paint for the kids bath today so I can paint and decorate their bathroom this week. I also need to pick out paint for the master bed and bath since I want to have those two spaces done before Valentine's Day as a surprise for Andrew. Shhh! Don't tell Andrew! I figure in the six years that we've been married we've never had a nice master bedroom. My goal of course is to do it on an as little as possible budget, so I know that I won't be getting that bedroom furniture set I would love, but I just might attempt an upholstered headboard as well as painting some furniture that we already have.
Anyways, I've been super busy with projects and since I'm motivated I figure I should just continue to push ahead while I can. Wish me luck!
Then on Monday night Andrew took Ella to a basketball game and Mr. Handsome went to bed early so I had the evening to myself. I was feeling quite motivated at that point so I measured out all the stripes for a soon to be revealed space. On Tuesday and Wednesday I got all the stripes painted and I just need to say that it looks amazing. Now I'm busy hanging stuff on the wall. I'll reveal that space this week so keep checking back. On Saturday I was planning on finishing off all the trim work in the main part of the house while Andrew was home with the munchkins, but I didn't really think it through when I stored the paint in the shed because when I opened it it had frozen solid. Needless to say, I'm a little peeved over my stupidity because I've waisted several gallons of great paint colors, some of which I had plans for. Oh well, live and learn I suppose! I guess I'll be finding a place in the house to store paint from here on out.
So I'm hoping to pick out paint for the kids bath today so I can paint and decorate their bathroom this week. I also need to pick out paint for the master bed and bath since I want to have those two spaces done before Valentine's Day as a surprise for Andrew. Shhh! Don't tell Andrew! I figure in the six years that we've been married we've never had a nice master bedroom. My goal of course is to do it on an as little as possible budget, so I know that I won't be getting that bedroom furniture set I would love, but I just might attempt an upholstered headboard as well as painting some furniture that we already have.
Anyways, I've been super busy with projects and since I'm motivated I figure I should just continue to push ahead while I can. Wish me luck!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
A Time To Reflect
With a new year upon us we've been reflecting on the past year. It seems that since we got married we've been non-stop busy finishing up three college degrees, moving five times, buying two homes, adopting a dog, having two children and traveling. Since I've never sat down and made a list of everything we've done in a single year I thought that I would take the time to do that now so that we remember... after all this is as much of a family journal for me as it is a fun place to show you all what I'm up to around the house. So here we go:
January:
- We spent New Year's in Fort Collins with Grandma and Grandpa Eisenberg.
- We found out that we were expecting a boy! Anyone can tell you I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but really it's just that I was terrified of the unknown (I did grow up with all girls after all).
- We also found out that Mr. Handsome only had a two vessel umbilical cord as opposed to three, which caused a lot of concern. This resulted in monthly ultrasounds and weekly non-stress tests the last month. So many doctor appointments! Fortunately everything was okay in the end.
- Draper Temple Open House. We both volunteered for this and Andrew spent many hours finding volunteers.
February:
- We found our new home, even though we weren't looking. It's only because it was in our neighborhood that we stopped and looked during an open house. Funny how things work out.
- A week later we put our first home up for sale.
- So many house projects in preparation for an open house. It still amazes me that we got two full pages of projects done in just two weeks.
- More Draper Temple Open House assignments to fill.
March:
- We got an offer on our home after just five weeks! Yay!!!
- Brittany, Steve, Dublin and Caitlin visited. We were able to take them to the Draper Temple open house.
- Draper Temple Dedication
April:
- Lots of packing!!!
- Andrew's parents visit for Jonathan's graduation.
- We all got really, really sick the week of the move. Fortunately, Andrew and I only had it for 24 hours, but poor miss Ella Bella didn't fully recover for about two weeks. We were so lucky to have friends who were willing to watch her while we moved.
- Closed on the sale of our old home and the purchase of our new home.
May:
- We moved on May 2nd and were so blessed to have so many great friends and ward members show up to help us move. I think we had close to thirty people that were there willing to help.
- Mom, Caitlin and Aubrey visit to help paint the munchkins rooms. Ella gets them sick too. Oops!
- Fortunately Caitlin felt better soon enough to help me finish painting rooms. I wouldn't usually have a problem doing it myself, but I was eight months prego and trying to still watch my 17 month old munchkin.
- Andrew and David run the Ogden Half Marathon.
- We were so lucky to get just about everything unpacked and settled in before Mr. Handsome arrived.
June:
- Mom and Caitlin arrive to take care of Miss Ella Bella while we are at the hospital.
- Mr. Handsome was born on June 3rd. Everything went great and Ella was so excited to have a new baby brother.
- Trying to adjust to no sleep again. The worst part of having a baby.
- Emily visits Mr. Handsome.
- Andrew runs Ragnar with his firm.
- Mary comes to visit the new baby and miss Ella Bella.
July:
- Camping with friends at Pineview Reservoir for Pioneer Day.
August:
- Cameron's baby blessing. Thanks to all our family who made it.
- Thanks to Mary and Jonathan for helping me to paint our main living area. It was a huge help with all the vaulted ceilings.
September:
- Glacier National Park and Banff, Canada Vacation. We had so much fun and would love to go back again.
- David visits for Triathlon with Zach.
- Andrew's Lake Powell trip with his firm. I take the kids and dog and visit Grandma and Grandpa Challman while he's away.
October:
- We took a trip to Florida to visit Granddad and GrandPam Fisher. We had a great time while we were there.
- Both kids got sick once we got home from our vacation. Ella had the swine flu. Fortunately, Mr. Handsome only got a cold. Of course it was three weeks before we could leave the house again. Oh that was so miserable. Plus we missed Halloween so Ella didn't get to wear her cute little costume that I made for her. Sniff sniff.
November:
- We hosted Thanksgiving at our home this year. Mary, Jonathan, Zach and Nivea stayed with us. We also had James with us for dinner. We had a lot of fun that week and it was of course nice to visit.
December:
- We literally had something going every single day of this month up until we left for Christmas vacation. It was such a busy month with all of those mundane life things.
- We spent two weeks in California visiting family for Christmas. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed our time with our families.
2009 was such a busy and eventful year for. We have been so blessed though and have much to be thankful for. I'm excited to see what 2010 brings us!
January:
- We spent New Year's in Fort Collins with Grandma and Grandpa Eisenberg.
- We found out that we were expecting a boy! Anyone can tell you I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but really it's just that I was terrified of the unknown (I did grow up with all girls after all).
- We also found out that Mr. Handsome only had a two vessel umbilical cord as opposed to three, which caused a lot of concern. This resulted in monthly ultrasounds and weekly non-stress tests the last month. So many doctor appointments! Fortunately everything was okay in the end.
- Draper Temple Open House. We both volunteered for this and Andrew spent many hours finding volunteers.
February:
- We found our new home, even though we weren't looking. It's only because it was in our neighborhood that we stopped and looked during an open house. Funny how things work out.
- A week later we put our first home up for sale.
- So many house projects in preparation for an open house. It still amazes me that we got two full pages of projects done in just two weeks.
- More Draper Temple Open House assignments to fill.
March:
- We got an offer on our home after just five weeks! Yay!!!
- Brittany, Steve, Dublin and Caitlin visited. We were able to take them to the Draper Temple open house.
- Draper Temple Dedication
April:
- Lots of packing!!!
- Andrew's parents visit for Jonathan's graduation.
- We all got really, really sick the week of the move. Fortunately, Andrew and I only had it for 24 hours, but poor miss Ella Bella didn't fully recover for about two weeks. We were so lucky to have friends who were willing to watch her while we moved.
- Closed on the sale of our old home and the purchase of our new home.
May:
- We moved on May 2nd and were so blessed to have so many great friends and ward members show up to help us move. I think we had close to thirty people that were there willing to help.
- Mom, Caitlin and Aubrey visit to help paint the munchkins rooms. Ella gets them sick too. Oops!
- Fortunately Caitlin felt better soon enough to help me finish painting rooms. I wouldn't usually have a problem doing it myself, but I was eight months prego and trying to still watch my 17 month old munchkin.
- Andrew and David run the Ogden Half Marathon.
- We were so lucky to get just about everything unpacked and settled in before Mr. Handsome arrived.
June:
- Mom and Caitlin arrive to take care of Miss Ella Bella while we are at the hospital.
- Mr. Handsome was born on June 3rd. Everything went great and Ella was so excited to have a new baby brother.
- Trying to adjust to no sleep again. The worst part of having a baby.
- Emily visits Mr. Handsome.
- Andrew runs Ragnar with his firm.
- Mary comes to visit the new baby and miss Ella Bella.
July:
- Camping with friends at Pineview Reservoir for Pioneer Day.
August:
- Cameron's baby blessing. Thanks to all our family who made it.
- Thanks to Mary and Jonathan for helping me to paint our main living area. It was a huge help with all the vaulted ceilings.
September:
- Glacier National Park and Banff, Canada Vacation. We had so much fun and would love to go back again.
- David visits for Triathlon with Zach.
- Andrew's Lake Powell trip with his firm. I take the kids and dog and visit Grandma and Grandpa Challman while he's away.
October:
- We took a trip to Florida to visit Granddad and GrandPam Fisher. We had a great time while we were there.
- Both kids got sick once we got home from our vacation. Ella had the swine flu. Fortunately, Mr. Handsome only got a cold. Of course it was three weeks before we could leave the house again. Oh that was so miserable. Plus we missed Halloween so Ella didn't get to wear her cute little costume that I made for her. Sniff sniff.
November:
- We hosted Thanksgiving at our home this year. Mary, Jonathan, Zach and Nivea stayed with us. We also had James with us for dinner. We had a lot of fun that week and it was of course nice to visit.
December:
- We literally had something going every single day of this month up until we left for Christmas vacation. It was such a busy month with all of those mundane life things.
- We spent two weeks in California visiting family for Christmas. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed our time with our families.
2009 was such a busy and eventful year for. We have been so blessed though and have much to be thankful for. I'm excited to see what 2010 brings us!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Christmas 2009 Recap...
For Christmas we spent two weeks in California with our families. We had a great time while we were there and had some beautiful weather (unlike the frigid 20 degree temps and snow we left at home). We are so lucky to have such great families. Our munchkins were completely spoiled and always had a willing audience to dazzle with their cuteness. Ella sure has her many uncle's and grandpa's wrapped around her little finger. We spent some time at the beach, which Ella and Roxy absolutely loved, I got to go with my MIL and SIL's to get a manicure and pedicure, which is always wonderful - thanks again Mary, Ella got to do lots of playing with her cousins and we were able to get in a lot of visiting time. The major downfall of a trip that long is that our kids don't really like to sleep anywhere other than their beds so they always end up sleeping with us while waking up several times a night. So it's sort of difficult to go two weeks with minimal sleep in someone else's home while staying totally with it, but we managed to do it and have a great time. We were of course very happy to get home to our own beds though. Here are several of my favorite pics from our trip. Of course this is just a very small sampling, but I figured I couldn't post hundreds of photos. Enjoy!
Ella loved the dog beach. This quickly led to a good soaking.
She didn't seem to mind too much though.
I think Ella shares her daddy's love of the beach.
And so did Roxy!
I have to admit that even I love the beach in the winter time. It's so beautiful. Can you see Ella Bella eyeing that water like a crazy person?
We spent Christmas Eve with my family this year and both munchkins were completely spoiled by their aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa.
Cameron knew exactly what to do.
It was fun to see Ella get into it this year. Last year she wasn't to interested.
Christmas morning. Again the kids were completely spoiled. We were so lucky that Uncle Zach had his car and could bring stuff home for us.
Cameron and Uncle Zach. Showing off his new shoes. What a handsome little dude he is.
Ella sporting her new shoes. Thanks again Uncle Zach and Uncle Mose for the sweet vans.
Cameron loved the tree. Don't worry he was being supervised while doing this. :)
The munchkins with their cousins.
Landon, Ella, Cameron and Dublin
My sisters and I on New Years Eve.
Aubrey, Brittany, Me, Courtney and Caitlin
Friday, January 1, 2010
Welcome 2010!!!
Happy New Year!!!
We'll be heading home tomorrow so I promise I'll start posting again next week. We've had a great trip, but are really looking forward to getting home. Two weeks is just a little too long to be gone especially with two small children that don't sleep well in places other than their bed. I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year!
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