Watch how her Grandma Simonson's picture makes her feel much better!

A trip up north

On January 7th my great-grandpa Ellis passed away. My family drove up for the funeral, and Natalie and I tagged along leaving Mark behind. He was 94 and had lived a long, full life. I visited him a lot while I was at BYU and grew closer to him there, and was able to record him talking about his life to preserve for posterity. It was a special experience and I was glad to be able to know him. Natalie even visited him a few times in her short life, and we've got the 5 generation pics that only come along once in a while. We will always remember his stories, rib-cracking hugs, and his love for the gospel. What a great man.

Natalie with her great-great grandpa Ellis, taken last April.

5 generations: Great great Grandpa Ellis, Great Grandma Gillie, Grandma Barnes, mother, and baby Natalie

Natalie and I in front of the casket. We admired the beautiful flowers.

Natalie being shy with her cousin Enoch.
My beautiful mother and her gorgeous sisters: Christine, Lynette, my mom, and Denise.
Sweet little Brooklyn!
My amazing sister Melanie with her baby Brooklyn. Oh, and me and Natalie.

On the way home we stopped to stretch her legs and she sat down on this rock. Adorable!

I'm really glad I was able to go. We had a fun time visiting with rarely-seen family members and divvying up Grandpa's stuff.

That's it for now. There's another new post below, in case you are wondering.

The big 2-5

So, I had a birthday on the 12th. It was not the most wonderful amazing birthday ever because we happened to be driving back from Utah that day. It was still fun though because when I got home my hubby had a bouquet of roses, a card, balloons, and a lovely gift for me. He is so sweet and wonderful! We ordered pizza and had chocolate cake and that was about it. The next day we had a family dinner on the Hatch side since it's also Mark's aunt Judy's birthday and his Grandma's on the 13th. That was really fun and it was great to see most of the family. I married into the best family ever, I must say. I wish everyone could have such great in-laws as I have!

Judy, Grandma, and me on our birthday weekend.

Wiped out from writing the card. Just kidding...he was sick. :-(

That's it for now, folks. Ta ta.

Curls and pigtails

Today is a momentous occasion in a baby's transition into toddlerhood. I put her hair in pigtails! She looks SOOOOO cute. I know I say that a lot, but oh man, what a darling piece of pumpkin pie. Here she is.

Oh, and I curled my hair today for the first time in years. I think next time I'll keep my bangs down, but it was fun anyway!

Ta ta for now. I will post soon about our trip, really!

Help please!

Ok, so when I changed my blog template it erased all my family and friends links! So if you would be so kind as to leave your blog site in the comments section if you don't see yourself on my list, that would be great! Thanks everyone.

Fun at the park

With Aubri in town and Mom Simonson on her Christmas break from school, we played a lot with them at the park. It was so fun! It is a block away from us and has everything a kid could ask for. Natalie loves to go. Here are some pics from a few adventures in the park.

Not a park picture, but just plain cute. Doesn't she look so big?

Random, I know. But I was amazed at the limber little gal and thought I'd share.

That's all for now. I'll post soon about our Utah trip.

Happy Birthday Natalie!

We celebrated Natalie's first birthday last week. I can't believe she is already one! It went by so fast. Here is a brief timeline of her first year:

Born December 28th, 2006. 7lbs 6oz, 19.5in long. Chubby cheeks and lots of hair.
2 months old. Still chubby, still lots of hair. Getting more adorable every day.
4 months old, still chubby. Hairline starts to recede, makes her ever so much more adorable.
6 months old. Can she get any cuter? Yes. I believe she can.

We had a little party with some friends and family. Natalie was excited about the balloons and the Albrecht kids the most, I think. Here we are at the party.

Opening some of her presents. She likes pulling the tissue paper out of the bags.

Butterfly cake made by mommy with help from Grandma Barnes and Tiffany.

She got scared and/or shy at all the people singing at her, and started crying.
She quickly turned off the tears when she saw the delicious butterfly head on her tray.

Dig in! Yummy!

She was so adorable and had a great time. Thanks everyone for coming and for the gifts! She sure is loved.

She had her one year checkup at the pediatrician. She is now 21lbs 3oz and is 31in tall. We love her to pieces and are looking forward to year #2!