We've Moved!
Check out our new blog:
http://www.aintlovethesweetestthing.blogspot.com/

So I only posted twice in 2009, how sad is that?! I've decided I need to do better. Now that all my siblings and so many friends are spread out all over the country, I really want to do a better job staying in contact, and since I only had two posts last year, I'm pretty sure it can't get any worse.
I've decided I'm going to go private though and join Facebook so you can still find me if you want an invite.
I don't think I'll go private for another month, so let me know if you want an invite and send me your blog links as well!
Wish me luck on getting back to blogging ;)

So much has happened since my last post (imagine that). Here is my attempt to give a recap and update. Only the good stuff of course...

Graduation from grad school! WAY TO GO JEFF!!!

While overshadowed by the fact that we still didn't have a job and moving in to Jeff's parents' basement wasn't exactly how we envision coming out of grad school, graduation still seemed like a major accomplishment to me. Our time at BYU really flew by. We have both learned a lot through this experience and even though there were A LOT of tough times, the good times definitely outweigh the bad and we were able to become good friends with a lot of amazing people. I already miss the friends and fun activities...Jeff's still too busy to miss homework (okay, I don't think that ever happens).
We also survived the graduation ceremony and if you can survive that with small children you can survive anything! I love Drew's face in the bottom left picture...I finally let him run around at the very end.

FLORIDA!

Some of our good friends from the program invited us to stay with them at their parent's BeAuTiFUl beach house in Florida. We had a great time soaking up the sun by the pool and beach and enjoying being with our friends. Our kids LOVED being able to walk out to the beach every day and play in the sand or swim in the pool. One of the best parts was while the younger kids napped we'd turn on a movie for the older kids and then play games, swim in the ocean or just hang out by the pool. And when the kids went to bed the grown ups partied playing pool, watching movies, playing games and just talking...it truly was paradise!

Merry Christmas

We had a great holiday break. I think the best part about our Christmas was spending so much time with our families (and Jeff). Our kids really enjoyed spending time with their cousins, uncles and (and aunts) as well as their Grandparents. I really felt like I was on vacation because there was always someone for them to play with or eager to do whatever they wanted...we were all spoiled by that :) Chrirstmas morning was great and Ella was especially fun to watch. She isn't nearly as annimated or enthusiastic as Andrew but she enjoyed all the new toys, especially her new stroller and baby. She has been SUPER attached to babies lately. I had bought her a Premie Cabbage Patch Doll and was planning on giving her that since she loves babies so much. A few nights before Christmas we had to make a last minute trip to Toys-R-Us on our way home from a party. It was late and our kids were sleepy, but Ella would not stop crying for all the babies. I finally stopped in front of the Cabbage Patch Dolls. I showed one to her and asked if she wanted that baby, much to my disappointment she looked at it and said in a pout, "No..." Then Drew chimmed in, "That is one fat baby!" Needless to say there was a different baby under the tree Christmas morning. We are happy to be home (with all our Christmas stuff stored away for another year and no pressing errands to run in the snow) but our house seems very quiet and we miss all our family...and Jeff. :) It's a good thing we have preschool!
PS One of the things we did over the break was clean off all our pictures and transfer them to external hard drives...the only problem is now I don't know where most my pictures are...hopefully Jeff does...so this is a random sampler!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Yes I know it has been forever, but rather than focus on the past and give excuses I'm just going to move on...and I am not promising to do better ;)

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays mainly because you get to celebrate it the whole month. We had a lot of fun going to Corn Belly's, Boo at the Zoo (along with a million other people), painting and carving pumpkins and of course getting all dressed up. This year Andrew wanted to be Bob the Builder. I think this was a result of last years' festivities. We visited his cousin Matthew in TX last year and he was Bob. Drew thought the tools and everything were great and would have liked to wear that costume. Since I didn't pack his costume he didn't get to be a dinosaur but was a dog instead...cute and he got treats, but he would have rather been Bob...and surprizingy he remembered and wanted to be Bob the Builder this year. I was happy to oblige, especially since he was satisfied with tools and a hard hat! I did work a little harder on his costume for the Stevens' family party. Our family dressed up as character from Peter Pan. Ella was Tinkerbell, I was a last minute Wendy, Jeff was captain hook (without the beard and hook...we borrowed the costume and they forgot that part), and Drew was the crocodile. I put some thought into that one and made the head and tail. We found a turtle costume that you could remove the shell so we used that for the body. Looks like next year he'll be a turtle ;)

Ella showed her true colors this Halloween especially when it came to trick-or-treating. She is little miss independent and is telling us more and more what she wants...and she usually gets it. She wanted nothing to do with picture taking and would use her new favorite word everytime she saw me with the camera: NnO! She was all about the treats though. It was cute to see her carrying her treat bag in one hand and a piece of candy in the other. She was actually a little aggressive when it came down to it...pushing her way to the door to make sure she got some candy and then she would get all excited about a treat. Looks like she is more like me than I thought! After a fun night of trick-or-treating I just need to figure out how to get rid of all this candy before I eat it all!

Best thing about Halloween this year: THE WEATHER! I wish it could stay like this forever.

Better than best friends - Brother and Sister

It is amazing to me how much Ella and Drew are drawn to each other. Ella has allows loved watching Drew and now that she is mobile she follows him around everywhere. Drew deals with it pretty well (most of the time) and occasionally wants to play with her as much as she wants to play with him! I love watching them interact together; it is just so sweet. We had to move Ella's crib a little while ago while our landlord was fixing a leak in our apartment (...one among many...yet another reason I am SO glad we don't own this place...). Jeff and I just happened to peak in on the kids at the perfect moment...I've noticed that when Ella wakes up crying she will reach for Drew. He is a good big brother; he is nice enough to push her around on the little bike/scooter thing my mom has. This is nice for me too, since it is a pain in the back to push around...literally. I know they will probably fight more as they get older, but it is fun to see them as little buddies now.

LOOK WHO'S WALKING

Ella has started walking the last few weeks; something I am not mentally ready for. She is such an independent spirit that I know my days of snuggling her are limited. With Andrew I couldn't wait for him to start walking (part of being the first child...right?) but with Ella I feel like I haven't even tried to encourage her to do it. I think a lot of her motivation comes from watching Andrew and wanting to do everything he is doing. She also gets some help from Daddy; in fact she was playing with Jeff when she took her first steps. I think it is like watching a little miracle when you see a baby take their first steps. All of a sudden they are doing something that seemed impossible just seconds ago. We called both grandparents via web-cam to show them Ella's new trick. It added to the excitement being able to share the discovery with them.
I love these pictures because they show how much she loves her newfound ability. I love watching her grow and seeing more of her personality come out. It still amazes me that you can tell so much about them right from the start. Ella is such a happy little baby full of smiles and giggles. I just can't image life without her!