She is definitely ours

BRIA

I know she is mine because...

• she could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
• she LOVES her arms and back scratched
• she gets frustrated easily is a perfectionist
• she has a bazillion facial expressions
• she loves no bake cookies
• she doesn't like when people walk up the stairs close behind her

I know she is Brian's because...

• she is a picky eater who doesn't like most fruits
• she never takes your word for something, she has to see it for herself
• she asks a bazillion questions
• she loves her feet and back rubbed
• she runs warm, especially when she sleeps (she has a very lightweight comforter on her bed and that is it, despite my efforts to pile blankets on)
• she has a hard time remembering names (this is somewhat recent)

Zoo lights

Every year (for the last 25 years) the Zoo puts up millions of lights and tons of fun displays. We went last year for the first time and decided to go again, possibly make it a tradition.

It was freezing, but fortunately it wasn't raining which I am grateful for. We bundled the girls, put hot chocolate in a thermos (also a bag of marshmallows to top the hot chocolate off with :) and headed off.

All warm and ready for Christmas lights

Picture this but ten times brighter, it looked pretty cool.

Bennett and Weston came! We love our friends :)

Playing around with my camera, I was able to capture the lights a little better (thanks to Amanda!)

In awe of the beauty

This little girl kept tipping over and slowly falling on her head, it was hysterical. Guess that snow suit is hard to balance in :)

Bria and Weston ready for the train ride (and apparently scared of something)

One of my best girls

It's blurry but in a cool way :)

Bennett and Wes shared their elephant ears with Bria (and Brian and I :) and they had such a good time. Reese was a trooper especially since we were out past her bedtime. Bria danced and "oohed" and "ahhhed" all over the place, she just loved it. Around 8:30 Reese let us know that she was done so we headed home.
So glad we went, this Holiday season is all sorts of exciting.

Our magical family day

We ventured out to get our tree on Sunday and it turned out to be quite a wonderful day. At first we thought we would just go to Fred Meyers and get our tree (like we did last year) and then go to a Christmas tree farm later to get the "experience". So we went to FM but the trees were looking very sad, and while it would've been nice of us to adopt a nearly dead tree, we decided it was best to go cut our own down.

So we drove out to a Christmas Tree farm close by and had the best time. We roasted marshmellows, sat with Santa (kind of), and walked through the "forest" to find our perfect tree. 

Not only did we find our perfect tree, but Bria was the one to find it.

Bria would not go within 20 feet of Santa, if Reese could've talked she probably would have objected too.

Roasting marshmellows (Bria isn't glaring at anyone, she's just enjoyoing her marshmellow)

They even have fake snow! This was Bria's favorite part, she would run and dance in the falling snow. 

So after we had some fun we ventured out to find the tree. We couldn't believe how hard it was to find, apparently we are picky. We wanted a 7 footer that was somewhat full but at the same time a little thin. We told Bria what we were looking for so she could keep her eyes out. Brian and I almost settled for a tree when Bria yelled, "How about this one!"
We looked over and saw our tree.

By our tree

This was the first time we have ever done a U cut and it was definitely a fun experience. We are hoping that our tree lasts longer since it is fresher than we normally get.

Reese was very impressed with Dad's muscles and ability to saw that tree down

I know you want that hat because, well, it's ADORABLE! My cousin Lanie is all sorts of talented

Santa took a break, so Bria agreed for a picture on the sled :)

 

Sheep are funny, so are husbands :)

Cuties

It was just the best Holiday experience. We all had such a good time. When we came home Reese took a 3 hour nap and we decked the house in Christmas stuff while listening to Christmas music. We got the tree up, decorations set up, and outside lights on. We are ready Santa!

I love Christmas time!

The End

As some of you may know, the end of an Era happened recently. The end of the Twilight Saga. The very last movie came out recently and Heather was so sweet to take me to the premiere. It was so exciting to be able to see it right away and I absolutely loved it. 

Well, Thanksgiving rolled around and we headed down to spend time with our family. I took absolutely NO pictures. WHAT?! 

Except pictures of when my sisters and Mom and I went to see Breaking Dawn part 2. Because it was the end of an era. We saw the very first movie together and it was only fitting that we saw the last one together as well. 

Trying to get a picture before we went in to get our tickets proved to be hilarious. We went to the 10 o'clock showing (holy late batman!) and while we were waiting for Kayla to join us we tried to get a picture of us in front of the Twilight poster...by ourselves. Would you like to see what we got?

Not bad, Jaime's face is in the shadow and you can't see the poster though, so let's try again...

Ahh, yes, success! Jenny's eyes, Jaime's head, my Mom, and most of me....no poster (BTW we died laughing when we saw this picture!)

So Jenny just took a picture of us...only it was actually a video and in the video we stood like this for 10 seconds

We of course loved the movie and I'm so glad we all got to go together. At first I was all bummed that we didn't get a picture with Kayla, and then I saw the ones we took and realized we didn't really get any pictures with all of us anyway, haha. The point is, we went out, we laughed, we cried, we loved the end.
Oh and also, we will be seeing Les Miserables together because wow, chills!

Games

 This little girls love of dolls just kills me. I know I talk about it pretty much every time I blog, but I can't help it, it's adorable. Do you see how she is cradling the babys head? Do you see that?! Not to mention that baby looks exactly like her, bald and all.

Last week Bria and I shared one of my favorite days together. It wasn't anything extravagant, just a good old day spent playing games. While Reese napped Bria and I played CandyLand, Memory, and then a number game I made up (to help her recognize her numbers).

 She is a very encouraging little girl and would get just as excited for me as for herself, such a sweetie.

 She also has a sweet tooth, I think she gets it from me.

I'm looking forward to a family filled Thanksgiving weekend! I know Bria is going to have a blast with her cousins (you should see her face when we tell her she'll get to see Porter) and all her grandparents and aunts and uncles and dog friends... :)

Soaking it up

It has been a dream come true living so close to my cousin Lanie, especially since our girls are sooo close in age. Also, Bria and Bristol absolutely adore each other. Bria asked me the other day (as we were driving home from Bristol's house):

Bria: "Mom, can I be Bristol for Halloween?"

Me: "Sure hun, but Halloween is not for a long time."

Bria: "Can we go to Bristol's?"

Me: "Bria, we were JUST there."

The sad thing is that come June, they are moving to a warmer climate and far away from us :( Arizona is lucky, but we are going to be sad.

Until then though, we will be soaking up as much of them as we possibly can.

Playing with a little sidewalk chalk

We are currently experiencing crazy storms. The weather is monstrous, Brian actually put ear plugs in because the rain was so loud he couldn't sleep. Not only has it rained for 2 days straight, but it is so windy it's just miserable to go out in it for even a second.
I think we might follow Lanie to Arizona.

P is 3!

Presleigh turned 3 yesterday and had a fabulous birthday party. In Bria's words, "This was the most AMAZING birthday party I ever had!"

Randi had the house decorated so beautifully, it was magical looking.

Just a little glimpse of the decorations

And some more cuteness

Randi's Mom's friend made this cake, AMAZING!! And it tasted as good as it looked

Birthday girl and her Mom opening presents

You can always find one of our girls cuddling with Dusty

Reese and Daddy

All the kiddos!

The adorable babies

 It was a really fun party and all the kids had a great time. Not only did the kids have fun but the adults did too :) Olive Garden catered (um, YUM!!) and there were tons of goodies to snack on.
The girls came home and crashed, anybody else getting thrown off by how dark it is sooo early? It's madness.
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving this week, we are headed down to see the family. I may also be getting the house all Christmas-fied this week...I will be putting up our Christmas decorations. And then soon we will be getting a tree. I think Christmas gets more exciting each year!

Bruiser

Reese had a little tift with the cement, and the cement won. Fortunately I handled it better than this little incident when Bria was a baby.

She cried pretty hard but not for long. I tried icing it with a bag of peas when we got home but she was not so into that. I thought it was a good time for her first sucker. She agreed.

Update part 2

Reese: 1 year 1.5 months
She has been walking for a couple weeks now and has become very independent. Her absolute favorite thing in the world is to for walks outside. It's great except for the fact that she does not understand sidewalks and the safety they possess. Not only does she try and wander to the street or up people's driveways, she throws a massive fit if I try and steer her in the right direction. And forget about it if I pick her up and physically move her. Can we say drama queen?

"Pleeeeease let me go outside!"

 She loves to be on the couch, I know it's because Bria is up there so it makes her feel like a big girl. Anytime she wants up there, or up anywhere for that matter, she mouths the word up. I know she is trying to say it but no sound comes out, it's just her mouthing the word. It makes me laugh every time.
She is a smarty pants (not bias at all), she knows all the body parts on her face plus her toes and belly and head. When I tell her to go get her shoes and sit down so I can put them on, she does it. I'm aware that the reason she actually listens to me is because getting her shoes on=going outside.

 Her vocabulary is definitely growing which is so neat to hear. Just last Friday she said Bria clear as day. I have witnesses too, both Brian and Heather were there to hear it. She has said it each day since then and it is pretty fun. Then there are the standards: Mama, Dada, Hi, Baby, and Up. She also signs please and we think we've heard Thank You a few times.

  One thing I don't want to forget is her love of purses and dolls. She will find a purse and carry it around like she is this big girl and it kills me with cuteness. She will wave to us and walk away then come back and do it again, guess she's seen me do it a few times. Her love of baby dolls melts me. I guess because I was obsessed with dolls as a kid and loved playing Mom so it is so fun to watch her love of them at such a young age.

If I had to describe her in one word...well I couldn't. But she is a spunkyloveablecharacter. She knows exactly how to get people to comment on how cute she is and sometimes I just roll my eyes at her because I can't believe someone so little knows how to work people. She plays the shy card, she gives a big huge cheezy grin, she waves, she stares, whatever it takes to get people to look at her.
She is sooo cuddly. This little girl gives the BEST hugs and will just cuddle up on you with her arm around your neck. I know I've said this 100 times before but I can't help it, it's so precious.

She despises diaper changes and pretty much anytime you lay her down on her back. I usually get her dressed on the run, that's super fun. I feel the need to warn anyone that babysits her that she can freak out and scream and cry but it never lasts long, she gets over whatever upset her pretty quickly, it's just her way of letting you know that was not cool. Aside from her mini meltdowns, she is such a content little girl and just plays and loves to have fun.
Any time she hears music she starts dancing and flapping her arms, that's my girl!
Her sense of humor is so similar to Brian's, such a jokster. She is such a happy girl and so much fun!