Jillian's 1st Birthday!

Jillian's first birthday was December 21st. We celebrated it on the 20th with family living in our area. She wasn't too sure what the fuss was all about, but she sure did enjoy her chocolate cake! She ate the whole thing and was licking to plate clean when the cake was all gone.

Jillian's Stocking Is Finished!

I finally finished Jillian's stocking. I was worried that I might not get it done in time for Christmas, but to my surprise, I finished it a week early!

Natalie's 1st Dance Performance

Natalie had her first ballroom dance performance on December 12th. She was a bit nervous coming on stage, but when the music started, she did a great job with her dance partner, Ethan. It was really cute to watch! I'll attempt to put it on the blog in the next day or so, if Brian can help me (stay tuned)...

Oh Yuck!!!

Earlier today I was working on addressing my Christmas cards. Brooke came to me and told me that Jillian was awake and quickly offered to go get her. I said sure and continued addressing envelopes. She brought her down stairs and put her in the highchair with some Cheerios. A few minutes later Brooke decided to change her diaper. In this moment I thought to myself how blessed I was to have such a sweet, responsible older daughter. As she was changing her Brooke says, "Oh you are just wet." A minute or two passes and I see Brooke run by. I can hear Jillian in the other room crawling around. A good twenty minutes pass by and Jillian finally has had enough play time so she crawls to me. I picked her up only to notice that she didn't have her pants on. Within seconds of worrying that she might be cold, I realize that not only is she missing pants, she is also missing a diaper. The diaper is sorely missed because there is poop on her toosh. I call Brooke down the stairs and ask her if she forgot something. She sees my not so happy expression on my face, Jillian's dirty bare bottom, and in that moment, steps in a puddle of pee. I have Brooke and the baby get into the shower together as I then search for Jillian's mess. To my surprise, I can't find Jillian's little mess anywhere- and yes, I even checked under the Christmas tree! On hands and knees I have checked under tables, in the pantry and in closets. So far nothing. To be on the safe side, I guess that I will be mopping and vacuuming the entire down stairs tonight. If something shows up, I'll let you know!

Halloween Pictures

Here are my little monsters plus a neighbor who accompanied us to our ward trunk-or-treat. Jillian was a ladybug who couldn't figure out why mommy wouldn't let her crawl all over the place- after all, that is what ladybugs do best! Since she wasn't walking yet, this year was definitely a spectator's sport. Next year will be a different story. Nathan was my super handsome little cowboy. Actually, this was one of three costumes he sported this year. Why wear one when you can wear three different ones? At preschool he was a Transformer, at the ward party he was a cowboy and on Halloween he decided to go as Superman. No, I didn't pay for three different costumes. Friends of older boys have passed old costumes over to Nathan for his boys only dress-up box. Thank you friends. Natalie was a fifties girl this year. Her only requirement for her costume was that it was pretty. Brooke's costume from a few years back looked good to her so she was more than happy to wear it! Which leads me to Brooke. Gone are the days of wanting to look pretty for Halloween. Now ugly and scary is what she likes. This year she was a vampire. Running up to everybody and exposing her glow-in-the-dark teeth brought her a great deal of pleasure. What a blessing it is to be a part of these fun, noisy, and memorable years.

Family Picture

This picture was taken at the Spokane Temple when Brian's sister, Jenna was married in September '08. We had a great time visiting with Brian's family. As always, the trip was too short but filled with some great memories.

Okay, so I know that it has been a really, really, really long time since I have updated this blog. I became frustrated when I tried to add more pictures and things didn't work out the way I wanted. I'm now over my frustation and am now willing to try again... Wish me luck!