Merry first Christmas!

Natalie's first Christmas was so much fun! I was so excited to share my favorite holiday with my sweet little daughter. She liked all the paper and boxes, and even opened up some presents. Some good friends of ours gave us their little playground toy that their daughters grew out of, so we put it together in the backyard for Natalie. She likes it a lot, especially the slide. I'll post some pics of it later.What a fabulous Christmas!


The tree at my parents' house on Christmas morning.
She is so excited to see her new train toy.

She got the hang of opening presents, but her attention span didn't last through all of them. My parents liked the photobook Melanie and I made of Brooklyn and Natalie.
After her morning nap we went over to Mom Simonson's house to open presents. Mark is showing Natalie his toy gun from his childhood that his mom took away from him and his brother when they were little for pointing it at each others' heads....or something like that. :-) She gave them back for Christmas! It was cute and caused the brothers to reminisce a little.
She's excited about the wagon toy from Grandma Simonson.

What a great day it was! I am already looking forward to next year. :-)

My Christmas dress

Here is my cute little darling in her Christmas dress. Don't you just want to squeeze her?

Sadly, she had another blow-out at church. This dress is now in the wash.

Christmas on the West Side

We drove over to the west side of the valley (about an hour's drive) to visit Mark's dad and stepmom Audrey on Saturday. They have a dog, Neeko, who Natalie LOVED. She kept saying "ruff ruff" and panted like a dog. Here is a picture of her delight.

Unfortunately Natalie had a blow-out diaper while we were there, and since I wasn't expecting a diarrhea episode, I didn't pack any extra clothes. Here she is in her half-nakedness. Don't judge her jacket's button job.
Don't worry, we had a blanket which kept her warm on the way out to the car and on the way home.
It was a fun evening. We visited, exchanged presents, and listened to some great music. The lasagna dinner was delish. Thanks you guys!

Santa

Ok, I finally found the camera cable thing to download pics. So, here are Natalie's Santa pics. These were actually taken by Bruce Barnes of www.bkbarnes.com.


She didn't even cry! We were so proud. Ho ho ho.

We've been elfed!

Yep, us too. Enjoy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1539681336

Hello Family

Well, we are officially living with my family now. They are so nice to take us in. It has been pretty fun so far. The best part is that there is usually someone nearby to watch Natalie if I need to run upstairs, go to the bathroom, or unpack stuff. Today was a day of organizing and rearranging. Natalie took two really long naps so I made lots of progress. She was up last night from 1-5am so we were a little tired today...yawn. After repeated and failed attempts at lowering her into her crib while remaining asleep, I finally resorted to going downstairs to let her play while I ate a snack and watched Discovery Health. Just my luck, there was a show about a woman giving birth. Love those things. There was also a little clip of an upcoming show about a little boy from Russia getting adopted and the sight of him running to his new parents with this huge smile on his face made me get all weepy and teary. Natalie looked at me kinda funny and was like, "bee bee?" (baby) and I was like "yes, that's a baby." Oh, what a mushy mommy I've become! Anyway, like all bad nights, that one ended and we all ended up sleeping again. Whew.

Tonight we had a family Christmas party on my dad's side. It was really fun and Natalie got to see Santa ("dah-ta") in real life for the first time. She was so cute and didn't even cry! She just looked at him all curiously. I'll post some pics as soon as the camera batteries finish charging.

Well, I'm just rambling, because sometimes I get in a typing mood and I just love to type! Especially since I just trimmed my fingernails and my fingers hit the keys so nicely. haha, it's late....goodnight.

Exhausted

I always forget how much work moving is until I do it again. And it's even MORE exhausting with a baby/toddler in tow. We have been packing all week and moving day is tomorrow, yet we STILL have stuff that needs packing. Hopefully it will all go well....then I'm going to take a nap.

My first tag

Well, Amberly tagged me so here goes. I've never done this before and I'm a little nervous! haha.
Tag #1
1. Where did you meet your husband? in the Highland ward when I was 10 and he was 12
2.What was the first thing you said to your husband? can't remember, I was only 10!
3. Where was your first date? Phoenix Zoolights
4. Where was your first kiss? In my car outside my house
5. Did you have a long or short courtship/engagement? 3mo and 3mo, 6mo total
6. Where did you get engaged? at my house after an Easter egg hunt
7. Where were you married? Mesa Temple
8. How did your reception go? great but I was hungry (thanks Katie for sneaking me grapes!)
9. How was your honeymoon? Really great and not long enough (ran out of vacation days at work)

Tag #2
Four Places I've lived....
1. Anaheim, CA
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Provo, UT
4. Gilbert, AZ

Four jobs I've had....
1. Piano/flute teacher
2. food prep for BYU catering
3. BYU custodian
4. Academic Counselor at Univ of Phoenix Online

Four things I'd like to do before I die....
1. get into family history
2. Visit Europe again including places I didn't go before
3. go on a mission
4. write a book

Four favorite desserts....
1. brownies (ditto Amberly) w/ chocolate chips
2. gelato
3. Strawberry shortcake
4. cheesecake

Four facts about me....
1. I can wiggle my ears
2. I gave birth without medication and plan to do it again
3. I trained for a marathon in 2003 w/ the longest run being 16 miles (then I quit due to injury)
4. My right hand has a crease that is a straight line called a Single transverse palmar crease (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transverse_palmar_crease)

Four favorite TV shows....
1. Everwood (sadly, it's over now)
2. The Cosby Show
3. Mad About You
4. Everybody Loves Raymond

Tag #3
6 facts/habits about myself...here's the good and the ugly!

1. I'm one foot shorter than my husband
2. I brush and floss obsessively yet still get cavities
3. I have walked into men's restrooms twice in the last year
4. I'm nearly blind...Mark laughs when I have to literally stick my face in the drawer to find something if I'm not wearing my contacts.
5. I also still struggle with acne....so much for that ending with the teenage years!
6. I am a packrat trying to deny my packrat tendencies.

Whew, that was hard! I had to think a lot. I tag Karlie, Jennie, Stephanie, Crystal, and Brandis. Have fun!

The update

So, we're moving next Saturday the 15th. We decided to go with a property management company recommended to us by some friends, and they prefer that the house is empty to take pictures, show, be available, etc. Get ready Barnes family, here we come! We will be living with my fam-da-bam until law school starts to save our moolah. Wish us luck. ha. Love you guys!

There are more posts below with pics. I just can't resist taking so many pics of my little gal. I hope her younger sibs get as many as she does!

Tiny Tots with their Eyes All Aglow

We put up our Christmas tree and other decorations, even though we didn't know when we would be moving. Natalie approached it cautiously, checking with me oft to make sure this foreign foliage was safe to touch. She looked at it for a while, poking here and there while I showed her different little ornaments. She likes it, and has yet to pull an ornament off, crawl underneath, or knock it over like I thought she would. When I say, "where's the Christmas tree?" she smiles gleefully and races over to it. Here are some pictures of her wonder and awe.








I wanted to capture the reflection of the lights in her eyes. I don't know if the blogger pics are that detailed, but they're there! Ta ta for now.

Like mother like daughter

I found this picture of me at about Natalie's age. I had never really thought that she looked like me, but I think this picture looks like Natalie! I included a pic of her to compare. The shape of our eyes is the same. Crazy!

Things that change when you have a baby

I found this online and thought I'd share.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
16. You discover how much there is to say about one tooth
17. You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth.
18. You now know where the sun comes from.
19. You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have.
20. You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers.
21. You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night.
22. You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having."
23. You discover an inner strength you never thought you had.
24. You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule.
25. You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one.
26. Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog.
27. You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late.
28. You learn that taking a shower is a luxury.
29. You realize that you can love a complete stranger.

Pioneer Woman

Ok, I came across this blog from Rachel C's page and oh man, is it funny! She is this lady who blogs recipes and takes pictures step by step. The comments are so hilarious and the food looks delicious (high calorie, but still delish!). Take a look.
http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/

Fun in St. George

Reading to the babies.
Brooklyn is overjoyed to be with her aunt Katie!
Testing the air....
She looks so....toddlerish!
Smooshing her nose on the window at a rest stop.

Natalie hanging out with her daddy at the park.
Playing on the slide. Her hair is flying in the wind. :-)
Katie is having the time of her life.
S he's getting to that stage where she offers me everything she has. Cute!
Grandma with her two granddaughters.

We went to St. George to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. It was so fun! My grandparents live there and we all stayed with them. We all went to the park to play on T-day morning while the food was cooking, and then enjoyed a yummy meal that my Grandma, Mom, Melanie, and I prepared (I made the rolls). It was delish. The babies were so cute together--Natalie and Brooklyn are a month apart and will be such good friends growing up. We are so glad that Natalie has a cousin her age. Natalie and Brooklyn LOVED Grandma's little dog, DD and chased her all around the house. They also liked the grouchy cat until it hissed at them and swiped with a paw (didn't hurt the babies but they were sure scared!). We had a blast visiting with Melanie and Mike who sacrificed going to the BYU game to come down. On Saturday Melanie, Mom, Grandma, and I went shopping at this awesome home decor store and bought a few things. I can't tell you what, because it's a Christmas present for Mark (kinda for us both really). Natalie did great on the drive and slept through most of the nights there. She also napped really well. Thank you, white noise machine! Mark did lots of studying since his test is next week, but was able to find time to play as well. Mike set up a frisbee golf course in Grandma's backyard which we played a few times. Leave it to Mike to make a fun game out of nothing! Well, that's all for now. We are getting excited for Christmas!

My cute little girl

We got a gift card to BabyGap from a good friend back when Natalie was born. I decided to wait and use it when she got older since she had PLENTY of newborn stuff. So yesterday Grandma Simonson, Natalie, and I were at the mall and I bought Natalie a little dress with the gift card. It is an 18mo size, so it's slightly big, but hopefully she'll be able to wear it for a relatively long time. I bought a little shirt from Walmart to go underneath, and voila! A beautiful little gal. Behold for yourself:

Don't worry, this is an unused toothbrush. Ignore her drool spots. The dress looks long, but it's really just past her knees.
Tired out from all the pictures.
This is her puckered lip face that happens when she chews with her front teeth.
Laughing at daddy who is peeking out from behind the pantry door.
mmmmmm, cheese!

While we were at the mall we also rode the carousel. It was so fun! Natalie liked it, I think. She was a little nervous at first though. She started making gleeful noises during the actual ride, so I think it was a success! Grandma Simonson has a lifetime free pass for as many people as she wants, so we rode for free. I must be getting too old for that thing--I was a little queasy all day afterward!

Uhhh, I'm not too sure about this!

Eeeeek, what's going on?!

Well that's it, folks. Til later!

Bath time!

Natalie is just so cute when she takes baths. I had to take some pictures!

Eagerly anticipating her bath. She loves watching the tub fill with water and tries to touch it with her hands.
She's miffed that I'm taking pictures instead of getting her into the water!
Finally, joy in the water! Love the crazy morning hair.

Isn't this adorable? I love it. Right after I took this she started eating the faucet.

Drying off...brrr, it's cold!

Reading her beloved books. She LOVES stories and could barely wait to get dressed to read the story.

I love her smell so much right after the bath. Yum! Ta ta for now, folks.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

It's my mom's birthday today so I wanted to wish her a special one. She's formumblemumblesomething years old. She's so talented and funny and smart and a wonderful mom and grandma! I was just remembering last night how when I was little and needed her all I had to do was open her door and she would wake up right away and tend to me. When you're a kid you think all your mom does is be a mom and I'm grateful that mine always made us kids feel like that. She's so great!! Happy birthday Mom!