It's Beginning to

Look A Lot Like Christmas!!!!

I was so excited with the huge storm we got a month or so ago, lately it's been pretty brown and warm, but I still look forward to this Christmas season! Maybe next weeks storms will end up getting the season started on the white foot.
Even if there's no white Christmas, our house is all festive, we listen to Christmas music, and anticipate Christmas concerts and spending lots of time with family! Here's some of our Christmas cheer to share with you!

our little elf

we have this fake tree and a great real tree too! notice the lack of ornaments around the bottom...

this was at Thanksgiving at my parents, just too cute to leave out of this post!

This display case/ entertainment system was given to us by my fabulous in-laws. It is beautiful and we love it in our front room!

The finished product

So it took us a few months to get all the little details put together but now we're done! It's just about the best lookin house around! Guess the next project is the yard...

And here's how the kiddos have grown

Enjoy the view!

Apparently we're crazy.

I believe all our family will agree.

You see, we decided to paint the exterior of our house on our own- not hire someone to do it.

Thus the whole family was coerced into slave labor to help us accomplish our crazy goal!

So after 5 days of intense physical labor, our tired old sad house looks beautiful fresh clean and young again!

We still have little details to finish(shutters and stuff) but the main event is over.

We feel an incredible debt of gratitude to our families, we can never thank you all enough.

I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking.

Before...

After...

Tag you're it

Blogging has become one of those things I think about doing and never get around to doing.

So I'm trying to make up for it by posting.

The highlights:

I turned 25 in June.

Patrick is now 7 months old

We went to lagoon with Chad's work. It was fun, hot... Camilla loved it and went on a few rides on her own and with Chad and the merry-go-round with me.

Chad had an ER visit following a bike crash. His right hip and hand were really torn up but otherwise he was mostly fine(road burn on his left hand and chest). He got 7 stitches to fix up his hand.

2 weeks after his crash Chad joined his work team to win a bike race from here to sin city!

2 of my sisters-in-law, Patrick and I went to pick him up when he finished, it was a fun quick trip to break up the normality of our summer.

Patrick has cut his first tooth, a second to follow shortly. He says Dadadad and rolls to get where he wants to go. He's a solid guy, not chubby or rolly but definitely big. He's also just about the most adorable thing out there; when he gets excited, his whole body starts movin, and I just cant help but want to grab him and kiss him all over all day long!

Camilla is constantly making us laugh with her adorable phrases; "Hey guys, check this out!""I hold you me?" She's doing well with potty training at the moment, knock on wood! She loves the free play set we found in our neighborhood in June. It has a tramp, see-saw,2 swings, and a slide.

We are loving watching the Olympics and mourn its end tomorrow. What an amazing event our world joins together to create! I am always impressed with the countries that are represented and of course by the athletes themselves- what they're capable of is truly remarkable. Isnt it crazy that records are made and broken every year? When do we ever meet our full potential?

Swimming has been a joy in this heat! Camilla started "swimming" to Chad on her own. She jumps off the kid's step and floats(maybe with a couple kicks) to him while holding her breath. Its so fun to watch her be so comfortable in the water! Her backfloats are hit-and-miss still but she loves the water so much that I really have no worries about how she'll progress skill wise. Patrick just kicks and splashes the second his toes hit the water! He loves the water too. Yay for water babies!

We plan to paint the outside of our house this weekend! The yellow will retire and green will replace it! The trim will be refreshed and we'll darken up the door and shutters! I think it's gonna feel and look like a bran new house, I certainly hope it does. I'm kinda tired of looking like the sore thumb on our street.

Now for the pics

yummy peaches!

hail the conquering heroall clean!
wahoo for amusement parks!

A Fun Evening

Tonight we went to the grand opening of our Millcreek Community Center! It is amazing! The floor plan is open and fun. I loved the library, of course, and the toddler section is perfect. I cant wait to take Camilla over for storytimes and this fun reptile touch&hold activity at the end of the month! I am just feeling so blessed to have such an awesome community center just down the street! And no more having to drive over to the holliday library!

Out of Office

Blogging's been on the back burner for quite a while, so let me try to catch you up on our adventures.

In March Camilla turned 2, Chad turned 29 and we rejoiced in our 5th year of marriage! We had wonderful get togethers and celebrations for each event. Chad even stayed home from work the friday before our anniversary, which was absolutely fabulous!

Something not quite so fabulous but which I still enjoyed( this will sound funny) was that Chad stayed home from work yesterday, because he was sick. I love having him here with me even if really all he's doing is resting in bed. It's just so nice to be all together. Apparently Chad got his bug from Camilla who was sick a few days before. Hopefully the spreading stops there...

Patrick is now 3months old and feels and seems bigger everyday. So far he's a pretty solid little guy, no tank by any means but he holds his own when Camilla's trying to pick him up. Last measure = he's more than half the weight of Camilla and almost half of Mobi! He is still such a smiley little guy and one of our favorite things about his grins is the grin he gives when he gets what he wants- he will lie in his bed talking and when your face comes into view he gives this grin like, Ha you heard me and I got you to come get me! I also love when he pushes his blankets up past his nose, and then when you pull them down to take a peak, he grins!

We loved conference weekend! My sister and I agreed that its like a stay-cation with more than just relaxation benefits! I loved having the words of the prophets penetrating my mind and heart all weekend and letting the glorious music uplift my soul ( Anytime the Tab Choir sings Come Thou Font, I feel like the angels sing along and every soul listening as well).

I so didnt want it to end! When the last session was coming to a close I felt so disappointed! I loved so many of the messages shared and learned so many good things. I needed the reminders to have a good attitude and depend on the Lord. I feel strengthened and renewed and still am trying to apply the things that I heard that I know I need to do better.

It snowed today! I love snow, really I do, but I was getting used to being warm and I truly miss it.

Yesterday I tried something, something that I thought I'd never voluntarily do after playing soccer at age 8.

I ran.

I thought that it'd be a good experiment and so with Chad home yesterday, I put Camilla in the stroller, let Mobi emerge from the back yard and we walked up our street then ran down it. At the time it felt good and even all evening I didnt regret it. Today's a different story, every ache I have, I'm blaming on it. My back, right hip, right knee and calf are all mad at me. and I cant blame them,

Running?

What was I thinking?

love yall!

Toddlers are Funny

So the other day, before the cold front blew in, we spent most the day outside and loved it! Even when Chad got home from work it was still nice outside so we all went out together. As we're playing, Chad points out the moon to Camilla and she says, "Ball! I get it!" And then she walks over "closer" to the moon and reaches up like she's gonna grab it and give it to Daddy. Chad and I loved it, and I knew that I had to record this moment and share it with all of you!

short and sweet

Thought I'd follow up my last post with a short one, since that's what it was first intended to be.

Here we go

I was playing with Camilla and also dodging super slobbery kisses, when I stopped myself. I realized that I'd been wishing I were sitting alone reading and not really enjoying those kisses.

I told myself to live in the moment and enjoy myself. All too soon that little girl is not gonna prefer to play with me and I'll be chasing her down for all those kisses she gladly bestows now. I changed my perspective and didnt wipe off my wet cheeks! I love being a mom!

she loves her milkshakes!

and her baby brother!

sweet but not short

Just wanted to share with the world how disappointed I am in new TV shows. I know I shouldnt get my hopes up but I do- I wanted Smash to be this awesome show about the awesomeness of Broadway, with fun dancing, music, singing, and I got a sex-scene in each episode. Yuk.

But really, now that I know its not worth watching,

I can do something worth while instead of wasting my time watching TV. good intentions right?

Ok sorry for the complaint, now that that's over with:

Patrick is getting so big- I'm amazed at how much my little 7 and a half week old has changed! His face has filled out a ton- it helped that he gained a pound a week the first few weeks! He's so smiley! I love when he looks up and just grins! I could tell a couple weeks ago, when he first started random grinning, that he'd melt my heart once he knew why he was grinning and who he was smiling at! And he does! He's started grabbing more, I love seeing his little fingers holding his blankets. He's talking a lot too! Even with his mouth full- silly boy! and last night he slept for 6 hours! I never guessed how amazing it would be to have two kids, yes its hard, but such a blessing and sometimes so heartwarming too! I just cant help loving my little guy- I always have and always will!

Camilla is learning how to be a good big sister, slowly. She loves giving him slobbery kisses and touching his face, hands, and feet. She wants to hold him and be involved in everything concerning him. She's a great little helper still but she's learning that she can get away with stuff. She loves to color and so far has kept it mostly to paper. She likes playing with her playdough and helping mommy cook. She loves playing with Mobi outside and always tries to get him running with her, she loves to give him commands too- Mobi Come, sit, stay, shush! so funny!

She is constantly Singing! I love it! Times when I expect toddlers to be upset (past bedtime driving home, putting her down for her nap, boredom), she's singing the sweetest little ditties. The other day she grabbed our smaller ottoman, one of her colored-on papers, climbed up and started singing- holding her paper in one hand and waving the other in the air! I was laughing so hard! (I have to hide my camera or else she stops what ever she's doing so she can see the picture I havent taken yet...)

I love when she cuddles up to me, as if to say, now its my "mommy time." She still gives the sweetest hugs and lately super wet kisses (she's decided there's no need to close her mouth when she dives in for a kiss, blegh!) I love my little girl, who's growing up so fast!

Chad and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. I am so blessed to be his wife! We made dinner together and just enjoyed the fact that we have each other, a wonderful home and family. He got me a beautiful rose and yummy tray of goodies(cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries and waffles)! He is the man of my dreams, I love everything about him, and being married to him brings me joy every day! Thank you for a romantic and happy valentines day my Love!

We're also going on a fun date this weekend, I cant wait to get out, be together and laugh together!

Happy New Year

Sorry its been so long! I guess I was busy or something, so here's to trying to catch you all up on our life. This is a picture of my Bro getting back from army basic training! It was so great to have him home for a few weeks!

This is a peak at our christmas. Camilla loves her booster seat, she enjoyed opening her gifts and Mobi loved helping out with the bows. We love our new bed and bed set and Camilla really enjoys her cozy coupe, tent, and dolls! We had a wonderful Christmas season, filled with lots of time together and with our families!

And now the BIG NEWS!!!! Patrick has joined our family! He came a week and a half early on the 31st! His birth went well and we're both really healthy- which is a great experience! He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long, so his little limbs are sticks and his torso is so skinny! He's a sweet little guy, who seems to be fine with just about anything, he gets upset and d0esnt hesitate to scream, but mostly he's calm and asleep actually.

Chad took last week off work so we all got to spend time together welcoming Patrick into our family. It was wonderful, and we miss him this week! Camilla seems o.k. with it for now. She's mostly gentle with her baby brother, but she gets frustrated when we dont satisfy her needs quite as readily as we used to. She does give him the sweetest kisses though!