Christmas Morning

Christmas 2009

I don't even know where to begin! We had such a perfectly fun Christmas. Some of the highlights over the holiday...
*Christmas Eve with just our little family. A favorite tradition of ours!
*Christmas morning of course! Lilly was a little bit of a monster, but still cute none-the-less. I think it is safe to say that she enjoyed Halloween much more than Christmas. Silly girl.
*Lights at temple square.
*Lilly getting to play and play and play. I think she has worn herself completely out. She loves her cousins.
*The incredibly thoughtful gifts from Anton. He always amazes me.
*Delicious food!
*The parties.
*The White Elephant gifts. Why do those always make me laugh so hard?!
*Spending time with family. This year we were able to spend time with both sides of our family. Antons family traveled up from St. George - it was so fun to spend time with them. Lilly loved playing with her cousins she doesn't get to see very often.

Here are some pictures from my parent's Christmas Party:

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!

This is such a beautiful time of year. I have really tried this Christmas season to remember what it is that we are really celebrating. I have felt a real change come over me this year. I don't feel the need or want for "things". Presents haven't been as important as in years past, the stress level isn't as high, and all I really want is to be with my family, to create and share sweet memories. Being pregnant this Christmas, I often find myself thinking of the conditions the Savior of the world was born into. It is deeply humbling and very tender to me. I hope to remember these feelings all throughout the year. So, at this time of year, I wish you and your families peace and happiness!

Merry Christmas!

Santa & A Party!

We went to visit Santa yesterday, and Lilly turned out to be a big fan of Santa. She didn't get off of his lap for about 30-40 minutes. At first, she was a little hesitant, then warmed right up to him. In fact, she loved him!!

After our visit with Santa, we headed over to my parents house for our family Christmas party. It was so much fun, as always. Lilly is getting old enough now, that she can really play and interact with all the cousins, so she had a ball! The Nativity which was acted out by all the grandkids was great, the food was amazingly delicious, the conversations were funny, and the gifts were so thoughtful and generous. I always look forward to my parents party, and each year it never disappoints. It is such a fun tradition! Pictures soon to come.

Reminded

Over the last few days, I have been reminded several times just how blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life:

This Weekend, I received a very special package in the mail for Christmas, and the card immediately made me cry. It was one of the most touching, sweet things I have ever seen. I will cherish it forever.

Today was our traditional "siblings" lunch to celebrate my two brothers birthdays. Even though Lilly was very much a little pill, it was so fun to get together with my siblings and parents and catch up. The conversations are always so funny. I feel so lucky to be in such a neat family.

Tonight, I was lucky enough to have two darling visitors. The first, a friend who wanted to catch up and also to tell me how darling she thought Lilly looked at church yesterday (she wore her new Christmas dress). I thought that was so sweet, and it was so fun to catch up with her! I am lucky to have such great friends. The other visitor came at just the right time. I was so worn out from my teething daughter, my dinner was a disaster, and was grumpy from being so tired. Seeing her cheered me right up. She came bearing gifts...delicious cookies, the most adorable gift for Lilly, and had written one of the sweetest cards. It lifted my spirits immediately. Anton and I both commented on how adorable this girl is. I hope that Lilly grows up to be as sweet and darling as her. I love her!

I feel very blessed tonight.

Festive!

It is getting rather festive at our house! This past weekend the tree went up, Christmas lights were hung, our village was set up, and the Nutcrackers were put on display. It is amazing how cozy a house can become when it is decorated for Christmas. Our tree is a wee bit large for our small home, but I still love it, and it smells sooo good. Lilly is loving this whole Christmas thing. She is obsessing over Santa right now. I can't wait to take her to go see the 'real' Santa! She had a lot of fun when we were decorating the tree. She mostly liked playing with the beads on the tree...which we thought was just a disaster waiting to happen. So, we put the "over-under" at 4 broken ornaments, and so far....we don't have a single one! Although, we do have some mangled Christmas presents. That's OK though. I can tell Christmas morning is going to be a fun one at our house. I can't wait!

A Real Pain

My dear husband gets to prick me with this needle once a week for the rest of my pregnancy. Lucky us.

And, I can't help but post a picture of Lilly!

30 Days of Thanks

-Lilly’s good health.
-Anton. He is so good to me, so good to Lilly, and just a good man.
-I feel so lucky to be able to spend my days with Lilly. We may not have everything in the world because I don’t work, but, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love being at home with her.
-My home. It is nothing special, but it is “ours”. We have created a home together, and I love that. It is a place of comfort and peace for us.
-Antons job.
-My sibling. I always have a great time when I am with them.
-My sisters. I hope Lilly is blessed with a sister.
-My car. I may not love it, but at least I have one. It runs well, and gets me where I need to go.
-Bath time! It is one of Lilly’s favorite times of day. She sings and plays and splashes all around.
-Blogging. It has become such a fun hobby. And, I love my fellow bloggers..they are inspiring, funny, clever…the list could go on and on.
-I am thankful that I love to cook. I love making a delicious home cooked meal for my little family. There is something about cooking that I simply love.
-How darling Anton is to Lilly. We went to visit him at work today and she walked right off the elevator, past the receptionist, and down the hall to daddy. When she saw him, she could barely contain her excitement. And, I heard him say “oh, you just made daddy’s whole day”. I love moments like that.
-That Anton is my partner. He can take over, and is so willing to do so, when I need a quick break to re-group.
-Lazy Sundays. They drive Anton nuts, but I love just being lazy reading books, taking naps, watching our favorite TV shows, playing with Lilly etc.
-The snow! It makes it so much more exciting for the holidays when there is snow around. Now, if it could only melt on January 2nd.
-My knowledge of the Gospel. The wonderful blessing of the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation is such a sweet, tender, peace in my life.
-Online shopping. I love it. It is so quick, easy, and fun. I would be OK if I never went to the mall again.
-The men in Lilly’s life. Her papa (my dad) is so smitten with her, and can’t go much more than a week without seeing her. He is always wanting to know how Lilly is doing. Lilly’s pompa (Anton’s dad) thinks she is pretty adorable. He always comments on how sweet she is, and I often hear him say “she is one cute grandchild”. And last but not least, Lilly’s daddy. I can’t even begin to describe their relationship. They are so in love with one another. He is so sweet to her, is protective over her, loves her, plays with her, is so happy when he sees her…I could go on and on.
-That I have healthy pregnancies, with little to no complications. The baby is starting to kick…what a fun feeling!
-My parents, Anton’s parents, and both our grandparents. We are so blessed to have them as ours!!
-Mormon Messages. They are always so uplifting and perfect.
-The Office. Honestly, I don’t think there is a show out there that makes me laugh as hard as The Office. We are always a season behind, so we can rent them and watch several episodes without commercials. I think we watch 5 episodes on Saturday night. I laughed until I was crying.
-The Internet and email. So quick and so convenient. I am not a huge phone person, so email is fantastic!
-Our dogs. They are such sweet, good little dogs. They really are a part of our family.
-Utah. We live in the most beautiful state. From the gorgeous red rock down south, or the mountains up here…it is stunning.
-Our grandparents.
-Laughing. Is there anything better than laughing hysterically? I don’t think so. I laughed so hard this weekend, and laughed even harder with Anton on the drive home from St. George.
-My marriage. We have our “issues”, as does everyone, but as a whole, Anton and I have a solid, very happy marriage. For that, I am so thankful.
-Lilly’s laugh.
-Thanksgiving. I love that Thanksgiving is a time for me to reflect on the things in my life that I am so thankful for. I am so very blessed, and have such gratitude for all the many beautiful things in my life. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Way to Go!

My husband was just named "The Biggest Looser" at work! He worked hard to loose some weight, and ended up winning the contest. He lost a total of about 25 pounds!

So proud of him!!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent it down in St. George with Antons family, which was a real treat since we don't get to see them very often. We tried to keep active the entire time we were down there, but when it was time to eat, boy did we eat well! I feel very blessed to have in laws that I love and enjoy spending time with.

Some fun things from the weekend:

-Thanksgiving of course! Yummy!
-Tennis
-Lilly played and played with her cousins. She has slept so well over the last week because she has played so hard.
-Angels Landing. I was rather proud of myself for making it up there, being large with child and all. (No worries, we didn't even get close to the chains. My fear of heights is too real. And yes, a woman fell from there as we were leaving. Horribly sad.)
-Sleeping in! My mother in law took Lilly for a night, so we could have a night alone. It was so nice!
- Games! We played so many games, it was so fun. I love that my in-laws play games, I think they are so fun.
-The laughing that came as a result of the games. Lets just say, for a game or two, my mother in law got really confused with Scategories! Hysterical!
-The beautiful weather. It was so nice down there.
-Spending time with family.
-The drive home. Wow. It was eventful. I kept calling us the Griswolds. I had several hard laughs on the way home.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Teeth

Yesterday while teaching my primary class, a little girl asked me...

"Why are your teeth so big?"

I didn't really have a response, but just kind of laughed. When I told Anton about it, he said "Well, did you tell her it is because they are Chiclets?"

Such a loving husband.

(and yes, my teeth are a little big...so what!)

Snow!

Lilly loved playing in the snow storm!

Lilly Lilly Lilly

Recently, Lilly is the most fun she has ever been. 18 months, is by far my favorite age. She is so talkative, funny, darling, sweet, cuddly, and happy. She runs everywhere, is starting to learn how to climb on the furniture, talks non stop, and has become my little buddy. Everyday she does something new that amazes me. Like this morning, I was in the kitchen doing dishes, and I walked into the living room, and she is sitting on the couch. I didn't put her there, she climbed up herself! Life with Lilly is the best. I can't believe how happy she makes the both of us.

You are probably wondering why I never post pictures. Well, that's because she has taken my camera cord and put it somewhere really sneaky. Little squirt!

Mt. Olympus

Anton loves to hike. This summer he kept saying "I want to hike to the top of Olympus". So, last week, he finally did. He went with some of his good friends, and I am so glad one of them snapped some pictures of him. Nice work Anton!

By Lilly

I had a fabulous day on Friday...

*I went to my Gymboree class. It was Marvelous! They had lots of balls that I could throw around and they changed the mats around so I could climb up and down them. I wore myself right out!
*Had a yummy lunch with my mom. I love pinto beans!!
*Took a nice long nap. My mom was so happy with me. She likes it when I take two hour naps.
*Then, I got to go see "A Christmas Carol" with my daddy's work. Everyone thought I would last twenty minutes or so. Not the case! I lasted the whole movie. I loved it! Mommy got me some popcorn and I sat on her lap with my cool 3D glasses on, munched on my popcorn, and had a grand old time!
*Came home and ran around while dinner was cooking. My mom let me play with my crayons. I love when she does that.
*Ate my dinner like a good girl, so mom let me have some yummy Halloween candy.
*Played with my daddy. I love when he chases me and scares me.
*Got all cozy and read books with my mommy. Then, off to bed.

What a marvelous day!

Thankful

I have really enjoyed reading peoples blogs who emphasize the things they are grateful for, in preparation for Thanksgiving. While I was in the shower this morning, I thought (that's where I do a lot of my thinking) I should keep a small list of my own, and then look it over at the end of the month. I really want to focus on recognizing all the blessings in my life. Because, after all, I have so many of them. I ran across a blog this morning that really tugged at my heart strings. I couldn't keep the tears from coming. I remember when Lilly was in the NICU, I took a break to go home and take a nap, and when I came back Lilly had more cords, and tubes in her than before. I just started to cry. The nurses explained that's why they did it when I had left...Lilly fought them while they were putting her feeding tube in, and for me to be there and watch, would have been awful. I knew Lilly was going to pull through, and be fine. But what about those parents who don't have that confidence? It really, honestly, breaks my heart. I just can't imagine the sadness and the heartache that these darling families go through when their child is so severely sick, or worse, if they loose a child. So, I will begin my list with the incredible gratitude I have for Lilly's good health. She is happy, healthy and is growing like a weed...and for that, I couldn't be more Thankful.

WOW!

Went and saw "This Is It" tonight with some of my siblings. Absolutely AMAZING. I loved every single second of it. I have always been a fan, and will always continue to be. After seeing this, it is very clear why he was named The King Of Pop.

(lilly is a fan as well. every time MJ's cd is playing in my car, she slaps her little hands to her legs. her favorites...Billy Jean, Thriller and Beat It. Smart girl.)

Witch!!

Most of my pictures of Lilly on Halloween didn't turn out - sniff sniff - so, I am waiting to get others that were taken of her from my family. Check back later for more of our Halloween.

We had the BEST day!! I can't believe how much Lilly loved the whole Halloween thing. We have been trying for weeks to get her to wear and keep her witch hat on, but didn't have much success. When actual Halloween came and she had her costume on with her fancy makeup, she put it on and loved it. We went to my parents for a killer Halloween party, which Lilly thought was the best thing going, then came home and off we went....Lilly's first experience Trick-or-Treating! She LOVED it. It was so much fun!!

And what about my Ghost cookies?! I think they turned out pretty cute!

Pumpkins

We finally carved our pumpkins last night!

She...

...melts my heart.

Funny

Why in the world is my daughter getting up at 6:30 in the morning these days? She sits in there laughing, playing, talking, hollering, and basically having a grand ol' time! Yesterday, Anton and I found ourselves laughing so hard our bed was shaking. Listening to her in there was killing us! Anton made a good point, "what is so fun about sitting in your room, alone, in the dark, with no toys, and in a cage"? Apparently, it is REALLY fun for Lilly. So, back off.

So, with all this being said, I guess it is time to say goodbye to her precious 7:30 bedtime. I am sad to put her to bed later, for my own selfish reasons, but I would rather that than keep getting woken up at 6:30 in the morning.

She has been SO funny lately...

*She is full of personality.

*She is becoming super independent. She has to be the one to turn on and off the lights, ring the doorbell, hold the toothbrush when brushing her teeth.

*We are working on a little bit of discipline. Like, she thinks she can go in the street. Going in the street results getting a smack on the bottom from mom...which of course she HATES. But, she also thinks "No No!", is hysterically funny. We are working on that.

*She LOVES phone books. It is so weird. In fact, as I am sitting here, she is playing with one on the carpet.

*She really likes to take mommy and daddy's things and put them in special places. My toothbrush = the toilet or garbage can. Two of the three toothpaste tubes which were missing for three days = behind the TV in the entertainment center. Daddy's debit card = in her room, in a box, with all sorts of other random things. My car keys = hidden under books in the magazine rack.

*Her "temper" tantrums consist of her going limp and refusing to stand up while making a strange growling sound. You can not direct her where to go, or hold her hand or she will pull out one of her "temper" tantrums. Sometimes she has "real" temper tantrums. Those consist of throwing something, throwing herself around, turning red in the face, yelling, and me trying not to laugh.

*I have mentioned before how she loves to be outside. Now, she will go and hit the door or sit by the door until I take her outside. I love that she loves to run and play outside.

* She is loving the pumpkins right now. We bought her a pumpkin that she will use for Trick or Treating...she always plays with it, and puts all her favorite treasures in it.

*You are probably wondering why I never post any pictures. Well, that is because she can't sit still long enough for me to snap a picture. I am not exaggerating. Although, I did snap one last week when we went to Gardner Village with the cousins....

Baby

Had my first doctors appointment today. We got to see the new baby wiggling, squirming, waving, and heard its healthy little heart beat.

It was SO fun for us to see that little squirt. I could hardly contain myself. It finally made it feel real.

What a day!

Happy Halloween!

Antons moves are SMOKIN! And Lilly as Dracula...might be the cutest Dracula I have ever seen!

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Saturday...

*cleaned out the garden

*put our pumpkins out
*painted the garage
*helped plant plants at parents
*yummy Thai food for din din

*played with an extremely happy Lilly

*cleaned out and organized my messy car

*popcorn, blankets and our favorite tv shows
*snuggled with Lilly - which is a rare treat

pretty much a perfect day.

Home

Today I took Lilly up to go swing and play in the rocks up at my mom and dads house. She ran around, wanted to ring the doorbell over and over, played in the rocks, played on the swings, then we went in for an unexpected lunch from my mom. I didn't plan on going over so my mom could make me lunch, we just happened to be there long enough for lunch time to roll around. I don't know what it is about being "home", but sometimes it feels so good. My mom could make me a piece of toast, and it would taste better than if I made it myself. So funny how that is. I feel so lucky to be close to my parents. I can see now, when my parents were called to be mission presidents, it was so hard on my older siblings. I love being close so they can watch Lilly grow. I love when I pull up into their driveway, Lilly smiles and knows where we are. And, I love that when I need advice or just somewhere to go to get out of the house, I can call on my mom or just head over there. But the truth of the matter is, no matter where my parents are...on a mission or just up the street...it will feel like home just being in there presence. Now, as a parent myself, I hope to provide Lilly and this new little one with that same comfort. I hope they will feel like they are "home" when they are with me and Anton. I love knowing that I can always go "home", but what I love even more is that Anton and I are creating that "home" for our little family. A place for them to get refuge from the world, a place where they will always be loved, a place where they will always be safe and a place that will always bring them comfort.

It's Official

Last night I "officially" became a Mother. I have always heard of moms being up all night long with a sick child, but had never experienced it myself. I wondered if I would ever have to go through that. Sure enough, my time came. I was up until the wee hours of the morning trying to soothe a crying, screaming, moaning, coughing, wailing, miserable teething little girl. I tried everything. Finally, I caved. Into bed with Mom and Dad. It helped her calm down enough to go back into her own room...around 4:00 am.

I need a nap.

Bath Time!

Grandma & Grandpa

Antons family was in town over the weekend. We had such a fun time with them! Lilly thought it was a party the whole time they were here. Saturday we had a full day, we had lunch, went to Wheeler Farm, up to Red Butte Gardens (so awesome), dinner, ice cream runs. In a nut shell, it was SO fun to have them here. Lilly loves her Gramma and Pompa! Hopefully we will see you soon!!