Where has the time gone? I promise I will be updating my blog with new pictures and stories in the next week! Right now I am blogging about a contest I am entering on http://www.vanillajoy.com/. I have won several of the sites giveaways before and I am really excited about this one. It is a weekend getaway to The Homestead Resort in Midway, Utah! (Good excuse to go visit grandparents and leave the kids with them right?) So go check out the site and enter the contest! There is also information about Craft Room Organization, scrapbooking furniture, and discipline for children

New Years Eve 2008

We had a pretty low-key New Years this year. We just stayed home and watched the countdown on TV, but we did have noisemakers. So at midnight, we made lots of noise and got silly with the noisemakers and Marissa slept through it all!

Xander and Becky trying to blow a bunch at a time

How many can I get in my mouth and still make noise?Ash, of course, is disgusting and decided to blow through his nose. Gross!

Building a snowman

We got quite a bit of snow during Christmas so one afternoon Ash and Xander decided to make a snowman. They spent several hours building and decorating it and were really proud of their results. Unfortunately, there are some kids down the street who never have any parental supervision and they decided that they would take our snowman! Well, since there was a lot of food coloring on the snowman, Ash just followed the trail straight to their house and talked to both the kids and the parents (I am sure he was WAY nicer than I would have been!) So anyway, next time they will probably make it in our backyard so no one can steal it!

Christmas 2008

We always put up a Christmas village, however if you look closely, this year the village was invaded by army men. There were snipers on rooftops, tanks, and army men hiding in every corner. The battle went on until we took it down...I'm not sure who won!

Marissa seeing Santa for the first time. Luckily she wasn't scared.
Xander talking Santa's ear off. We had to pull him off of his lap so the other kids could get a turn! He always has a LOT to say!
Christmas Eve: leaving cookies for Santa
Christmas Eve: reading Christmas stories
After Santa's visit
Christmas morning
Marissa's favorite gift. She saw this cabbage patch in the store and would not let go of it. She kept blabbing to the box and trying to open it. So Santa definitely had to bring it for her!
One of Xander's favorite gifts, a Spongebob snowcone maker. Like me, he loves ice (even though Ash says we will break our teeth!) so he loves using this and making the ice different flavors.

Marissa is 10 months old!

Marissa finally started crawling forward this month and started to get into everything!

Cute Christmas pictures

Attempting the stairs (thank goodness still hasn't done it!)
Using one of Xander's toy arrows to move the pizza closer to her so she could get it!

Smart little thing actually got it!
Hanging out with big brother watching a movie. She loves her big brother!

Marissa's sealing day!

On Saturday, November 29, 2008 Marissa was sealed to us in the Salt Lake City temple. Xander was so excited to be able to go inside the temple with us and witness the sealing. It was such a special day! We are so happy that Marissa is a part of our family!

With Becky's family
With Ash's family

Marissa is 9 months old!

Well, I am playing catch up again, so these are actually from a few months ago...but better late than never right? Thanks Holly for the persistent harassment to update my blog!

At Marissa's 9 month doctor appointment, she weighed 16 lbs 8 oz (25th %) and was 27.5 inches tall (50th %). They aren't scheduled to get shots at 9 months, but mean mommy made her get a flu shot! This month she started feeding herself. One of her favorite foods is natural white cheddar cheetos. Yum! She was also sealed to us this month!