New Camera

Hubbs bought me a new camera.


Can we just say LOVE!???!!


It takes AMAZING pictures. It is a Nikon D3000. Basically the first beginner camera in the DSLR family of cameras.

I'm learning a few things here and there about it. I can't wait to really sink my teeth into it though. Photography is something that has been a quiet passion of mine for years now. I just never had the time/energy to do it. Well, I really want to dedicate some of my time to it. I've decided that I'm going to take a photography class this fall. Among other classes to finish my degree... that's a different post though.

I'm loving using it and getting to be more familiar with the buttons and what all the modes are. Hopefully I can take some nice snap shots to share with our family.

Highchair

We finally invested in a highchair. Woohoo! No more trying to feed her on the floor where she just crawls away from me when she gets bored. The dogs were starting to swarm us and try to get her food. It was a nightmare. So I buckled down and got a higchair. I really wanted the cute girly one, but I know this little man inside my belly might not like having to use it when it's his turn. So I got a monkey one :-) It fits fine because Lilly is DEFINITELY a monkey!



She looks so little in it. I feel like she is just going to fall out at any moment! I know, not going to happen. She is just such a small baby. She thinks it's fun to share with the dogs. She holds her snack up then watches as it falls to the ground. She will look over the side first to make sure there is someone there to retrieve the package once it's delivered. Ugh. Emmett has made a habit of standing right at the front, and Lilly will grab a snack, then put it down by her leg and he rushes in to get it. Darn sharing baby! I keep telling her 'no sharing with the puppies!' but she doesn't listen. Fun times. If you see her sippy cup on the highchair, don't be fooled. She isn't really using it yet. She puts it up to her mouth, she mighht get a couple of drops, but she doesn't understand the 'sucking' it out yet.

Edit: She learned the 'sucking' pretty quickly. She is a good sippy user, but still loves her milk that she still gets in a bottle. My baby girl. She is just getting bigger and bigger and doing more and more every day.

Karli is 1!

Disclaimer, I look absolutely horrid in this picture, but I have to post it for Lilly and Karli's sake. I have no idea why I was positioned to look as 'special' as I look here. Ignore me, look at the babies.

Yes, this is another birthday post. I think we are done with birthday's for a while. Well, at least until May when it's Bobby's birthday.

Little Karli is 1 now. She was born on MY birthday actually. :-D My how much has changed in a year.

Jen has been my best friend since highschool. Our mom's always used to tease us 'you girls have to do everything together'. We worked together, we did martial arts together, we hung out (duh) every weekend, we always had to have double dates... etc. She has been one of the people that I confide in most for the last 10 years of my life. So when she told me she was pregnant I was nothing short of overjoyed.

So of course, the teasing started of 'well now that Jen's pregnant guess you aren't too far away from it!'. I goffed at these people. Really? Come on now... Well, 3 months later guess who got pregnant? Yep, this guy.

Anyway, Karli is 3 months older that Lilly, and it has been SO fun to watch them together and watch them both grow over the past year. (Lilly 9 months). Karli walks and says mama and dada and 'dog' and 'that'. She is so smart! She is a sweetheart just like her mommy. Jen and Matt have done a terrific job in raising her the past year. They are great parents. I look up to her in so many ways when it comes to parenting. So here is to Karli, who we got the priviledge to celebrate her first birthday with!

We totally didn't plan the matchy matchy thing. I guess we are just that awesome that we knew what to wear. ;-)

Happy first birthday Karli!

Ryan is 5

Ryan turned 5 this year. My oh my how this boy has grown. He is so incredibly smart, he picks up on more than anyone realizes. He is so very sweet, yet he's strong. I can't wait to see this young man grow into the person he is becoming. We are so very proud of him and all that he does. He is one of the funniest people I've ever met. He always has hilarious things to say. He is a great big brother to his little sister. He loves her very much and is so sweet with her. I can't express my sheer joy and happiness that I have in being able to help raise him.

This year given a few choices, Ryan decided he wanted his birthday party at Skymania. For those who don't know, Skymania is basically a warehouse full of trampolines all put together. It is SO fun! We invited a few of Ryan's close friends and they all had an absolute ball. When I called (2 weeks prior) to set up the party, they were already full for birthdays that day! So we ended up back at grandma's house to do presents, food and cake. It turned out great! Ryan had a blast with his friends and the grown ups had a great time watching him be crazy.







The grandpa's







fighting over the ball





3 musketeers

We were being attacked

Ryan and Grandpa

Lilly and Uncle Noah

I made it allll by myself! My vision was a tad different than how it turned out. *sigh*. I'll get it one of these days.

It was a really fun time, and I think Ryan had a blast. That's all that matters!

Quarter-of-a-Century

This year, I turned 25. I had some reservations about it. It's odd. It feels odd... I know, people are shaking their heads at me and rolling their eyes. But I mean really. We're growing up. It's like another new stage in life. I know numbers don't mean anything, and I know there are 25 year olds all around livin' the party life and acting like they are 18 still. And that's fine for them. I feel like a grown up now finally though. I feel like I've entered this previously impeneterable realm of adulthood. Maybe like people take me seriously now? Anyway, I'm 25 now. We enjoyed dinner at a mexican resturant with family and friends. It was a quaint celebration, but it was great :-)

My husband...

I just have no other words.

8 Months

In February Lilly turned 8 months old. She is growing into such a funny little person. I love every little thing she does. I could just sit and watch her for hours. (which I have to sometimes tear myself away from doing at times)


She is a little crawler. She goes everywhere! She is starting to try to climb ON to things now. Any box that looks low enough she attempts to get on top of. She crawls over Emmett when he is blocking her now. She is a strong little girl. She has discovered the dog food bowl. She crawls to the darn kitchen every chance she gets now. Dog food. Yum...

She started eating solids. Sort of. I finally found something she will eat. She loves the organic baby food that is in the pouches. Which is a plus for me because they are NO MESSES! However, getting her to sit in her little chair and eat is becoming more and more difficult. I see needing a highchair very soon in our future. She will take a few bites then crawl away from me. Or she will wiggle out of her Bumbo seat. The dogs try to lick her after every bite. It's becoming an 'issue'. High chair; ASAP!

She is starting to realize what we are 'doing'. Like, the things we're holding or using. She is noticing what her brother is doing most of all. Whatever he might have, she is very interested in it. She like to 'help' Ryan play video games. *snicker*. He tells her "Lilly, you can WATCH me! NO touching! Video games aren't for babies...". It's probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Valentines Day

I know, I'm way behind. I'm trying to catch up!!

Valentines day this year was a little different from ones in the past. We had an infant this year. No fancy schmancy dinner (well besides the one I cooked. haha), no night out on the town, just hubby and me. And the baby. haha! Actually we had a really nice Valentines day this year. Lilly goes to bed early so we still get 'us' time.

I made Bobby his favorite steak in the entire world. It's a marinade that our friend Taryn makes. It's a secret family recipe (pssshh... whatever) so whenever we want it we have to ask. ;-). I aquired a batch of marinade from her and had our steaks getting all yummy for about 24 hours before I cooked them. Mashed potatoes and asparagus accompanied the steak.

For our first dessert, I made a homemade chocolate mousse that was INCREDIBLE. I'll have to post the link where I got the recipe if I can find it. It was absolutely to die for. Very rich, but oh so good. Topped with hand whipped whipping cream by yours truly. I also made hand dipped chocolate covered strawberries and bananas.

Hubby got me a new Coach bag. I'm a sucker for Coach. I just love the brand.

It was a wonderful day. I look forward to the rest of our years together. =]

Superbowl 2011

Bobby's family are all Packers fans. To say they are fanatics, would be an understatement. I wish I had a picture of their game room. Packer stuff EVERYWHERE! So when they won their last game and went to the superbowl, they were all beyond pumped.

We went over to watch and be good sports (Cowboys didn't make it to the Superbowl, yet again *sigh*). It was a fun day! Everyone went NUTS when they won. Jon almost cried. lol.



Lilly's first superbowl! She couldn't fit in her Dalas onesie's anymore :-(



My handsome hubby and myself. My boobs don't fit in my jersey, but he got to wear his.



Uncle Jonny taught Lilly how to high five!



Grandma was holding food to make her look. haha!

Fun day, great food, awesome family. Now, Cowboys, lets pick it up next year!

Circus!

In February, we went to the circus! Ok ok, so we were SUPPOSED to go to the circus. Bobby ended up taking Ryan and I stayed home with Lilly. She was being a bit of a stinker butt. But they had a great time! It was a non-animal circus, so he didn't get to see any elephants or lions, but there were quite a few tallented people there! Ryan got his face painted like a cat while he was there. I hope I get to attend next year! Looked like fun! :-)