look mom...no hands...or knees!

It is official - Gracie has started walking on her own. She still only takes a couple tentative steps at a time, but none the less she is walking and just shy of 13 months (that is a record for my kids).

On another note, Gracie has started a new fashion trend. She likes to get into her socks and pull out the tights and drape them around her neck like a shawl or scarf. It is very stunning, let me tell you.

AND...she just looks so darn cute in pig tails.

happy birthday neener!

Today is my little sister Renee's 28th birthday. I have decided that in honor of this day I will list 28 things I love about Renee. Here goes....

1. She is the funniest person I know, seriously. She could make a suicidal person laugh. She is hilarious!
2. She is a sweet mom to Isabel
3. She makes the most awesome cakes I have ever seen (by a non-professional)
4. She loves mate (pronounced ma-tay) and visiting with the fam (they go hand in hand)
5. She is a great lip-sincer
6. She has really pretty hands
7. She doesn't put up with any crap from anyone
8. She works really hard at her calling and takes it very seriously
9. She speaks Spanish
10. Speaking of which, she does a great Mexican person impersonation (think Speeding Gonzales).
11. She is addicted to Wii
12. She went on a mission (something I am really jealous of)
13. She was my traveling buddy all those years my parents drug us around the world (I know, oh boo hoo - you got to go around the world - it wasn't bad, I just liked having a buddy).
14. She has great hair and perfect teeth
15. She saved me from Roger's hip jerks at the dance club in South Africa (inside story - don't ask)
16. She river rafted the Zambezi with me for Christmas one year
17. She let me borrow her car so that I could drive Scott home for Christmas when we were dating. We fell in love in that car.
18. I taught her how to drive stick shift (in that same car)
19. She was a phlabotamist (I have no clue how to spell it) - yuck. And apparently she is really good at it.
20. She is really good at taking care of people in general - after I had Gracie, I was a mess and she came up to Washington with her little 4 month old Isabel and took care of me for a week. What a saint. I am pretty sure I cried to whole week and then sobbed as I dropped her off at the airport.
21. When she was little she used to play tricks on the mailman. It was always really funny
22. She always had short hair when she was in grade school and the cross walk guy (who lived with the dinosaurs) would always call her, "young man." She hated it! So she started wearing huge earrings - he didn't seem to catch on.
23. She is a great housekeeper
24. She is a lot of fun to hang out with
25. She recommends good books
26. All her life she has been complaining about her knees and I always just thought she was looking for attention. Then after her mission she went to see a doctor about them and he said she had the knees of a 70-year-old. She had to have double knee surgery. So, I guess she wasn't looking for attention. Oops.
27. She is a really talented piano player
28. She is one of my favorite people in the whole world. When were in Africa and Taiwan people used to ask up all the time if we were twins; I would have loved to have been her twin. We were the best of friends and still are. I love you Nay, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Please Note: This picture was taken about ten years ago. Don't we both look so young and spry? Actually as you can tell these were a bit chubbier days for me. Renee and I call this particular picture "The Engagement picture." It just looks like one. Sadly, I could hardly find a pic of Renee - what a loser sister I am.

La la la la laaaaaaa!

Imagine for a moment, if you will, me dancing around my house singing and then prancing outside taking a deep breath and singing some more. Anyone who knows me well will have no problem with this vision. Why am I singing and dancing so delightfully you ask? Well, I will tell you....it is so beautiful outside and I can hardly contain my giddiness at the hopeful onset of spring! Now of course, I am a smart woman and a bit of a realist, so I know that spring could not possibly be here, but none the less, I am happy to delight in this beautiful, sunny day! So la la la la laaaaaaaaa!

P.S. Please note how the snow is slowly starting to melt. Isn't it exciting!

kids are funny little creatures!

Ready for a flood

Lily's safety tip of the day: It is always important to wear protective eye goggles when cutting paper into little pieces.

YeeHaw - riding a rocking horse is always better when shirtless!

i heart scott

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I would make a little entry shouting out my love for my Scottith. So here are the top ten reasons I love Scott...
10. He works really hard and provides such a nice life for the kids and me.
9. He is a great cook (probably better than me, although I am a really good cook as well)
8. Even though he teases the kids relentlessly, he really is a great dad - I love to watch him with them (most of time - sometimes he teases them to tears and I don't like that). AND they really adore him - Lily still calls him Prince Charming on occasion.
7. He is always learning something new
6. He is always trying to be a better person
5. He takes my constructive, sometimes honestly harsh, criticism very well
4. He can fix or make anything - really
3. I like the way he dresses and the music he listens to
2. He loves me a lot, a lot and tells me all the time
1. He is the dreamiest person I know.

BONUS: He sings really nicely and is so shy about it. Sometimes he will get his guitar out and sing me a little song and then get all embarrassed. It is very endearing.

one more BONUS: He is really good at cleaning the kitchen for me when he knows that I have had a long day and can't look at one more dirty dish.

last BONUS: he is very debt-conscious. He refuses to buy anything unless we can pay for it with cash. The only exception he will make is buying a house. (Sometimes this can be a bit frustrating, but in the end I am grateful to not owe anyone anything).

Okay, so I should have made it a list of thirteen. I love Scott so much and everyday I feel so blessed to be married to him. I look around sometimes and think to myself that I really couldn't have found a better guy. He is perfect for me. So....Happy Valentine's Day Scott - I love you!!!!!

P.S. I also woke up this morning to a dozen roses sitting on the table. I thought that was nice.

posing for norman rockwell

Well, we had another lame attempt at a family picture - the result........a very Norman Rockwell-esque picture. I took this to practice the self-timer on the camera and I thought it looked so much like something you would see painted by Norman Rockwell. We never did get a decent one. We may have to break down and go to a professional one of these days. Darn, I hate being a cheap-skate.

the zoo

Cousin William

The kids and I had a last minute outing to the zoo today. Aunt Jen called because she was in Salt Lake City and since the weather was so nice she thought it would be fun to meet up at Hogle Zoo. So I loaded everyone up and made our way over there. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

P.S. Yes, Adam and Lily did both get haircuts. Adam's was not intentional - he and his cousin decided to be hair dressers for the day. Now he looks like he belongs to "the Make a Wish" foundation. Lily's haircut was prompted by some old pictures I was looking at. She just looks so cute with a little bob.

the amazing football cake

If you remember back in October I posted a blog entitled "the amazing polka-dot cake." It was about a cake that my sister Renee made for her daughter's birthday. Well, Renee has done it again. In honor of the Super Bowl she made a football cake. On one side was the Giants logo (which up until Sunday I thought were from San Francisco - how was I supposed to know that there are Giants in both baseball and football) and on the other side was the Patriots logo (I think those were to two teams - I'm not really into football, so I am having a hard time remembering). Anyway, it was a great looking cake. Well done, once again, Renee!

P.S. I only have a picture of one side. It started getting eaten before I remembered to take a pic.

happy birthday to gracie!!!!

Yesterday was Gracie's first birthday! I can't believe it has already been a year. I am so grateful to have her in our family - she is like this bright little ray of sunshine. Happy Birthday Gracie Lou - we love you!

Uncle Eric and Grace

Getting started

Mmmm, ice cream...

That is a big pile of snow outside the window behind him.

Topless...her shirt got a lot more chocolate on it than I thought it would.