Quirky Katelee

What, mom? I'm just watching TV!

I have found her like this twice now - she climbs in the crib and goes to sleep when she is having quiet time.

What a silly, lovable girl!

Musical Movie Night

It all started in December when I watched White Christmas like I do every year. For the first time, I watched it with Katelee around. I didn't expect it to keep her attention. But she LOVED it. She wanted to do all the dances and she sang the songs for days afterward.

So, when we began getting into our new routine after the holidays, we initiated Saturday Family Movie Night, and we have been watching one musical each week. It has become one of our favorite times of the week! We take turns choosing the snack/treat that we will enjoy, and start the movie early - musicals are long! It's been a great way to end Saturdays (now that I teach most of the day on Saturdays) with a little fun, cuddling, quality time together.

Each week, as we anticipate the next Saturday night, I find we all go around singing the songs from past movies. So far, we have watched:

Cinderella

Mary Poppins

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

and Annie

They have all been a hit in our house! Here are some others we are planning to watch in the near future.

Sound of Music
Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang
Wizard of Oz
The Music Man
Newsies
Into the Woods
Oliver
Pete's Dragon
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Singin' in the Rain

I would love to hear other suggestions! If you think of another musical that is good for families, please let us know! :)

The Fun Things in Life

(Can you see his big smile in the picture above?)

A big sister's job is to teach her little brother all about the fun things in life. Toys, stories, cartoons, treats . . . you get the idea. Katelee takes her job as big sister seriously. She is always reading Blake stories and showing him her toys. She is slightly disappointed, maybe, that Blake can't actually play with his toys yet or that mommy won't let him watch cartoons. :) So, the other day when she brought home a balloon, Katelee was very excited to show it to Blake and teach him all about the many joys of balloons. She was ecstatic when she taught him how to hold on to the balloon. He gripped the string tightly in his little fist and stared up at it bobbing above his head. We all got quite the kick out that, and Katelee just couldn't stop giggling!

Wow! Look at me, mom!

The next night, Katelee wanted to repeat the moment. :)

Love that grin!
Yes, life is going to be very good, and lots of fun, with a big sister like Katelee!

2 months

Blake is two months old today! I'm not sure where the time went!

Blake has blessed our lives beyond measure. I feel such an intense bond for this little man, and thank Heavenly Father everyday that he was sent to our family. Blake is a calm and happy personality. Give him a little attention, and he'll reward you with smiles and coos that will melt your heart.

He is also very loving. He likes to snuggle and cuddle, loves kisses, and loves his mama (which makes me about the happiest mama alive!), daddy and sissy.

He has started taking two good naps everyday. He sleeps pretty well at night, though he still likes to eat often. And his reflux is giving him more trouble these days, which sometimes makes it hard for him to sleep. We are seeing a specialist in February, so I'm hopeful we can make this a bit better for him soon.He is growing big! He eats great, and loves his bottles. He has those irresistible baby thigh rolls and at least three chins and the most kissable boy cheeks ever. His hair won't stop growing! I am going to get brave this weekend and trim it, I think. :)

Oh, and because we see it so rarely: Blake's serious face.

Oh, how we love this boy.

Happy 2-month birthday, Blake!

Decorating for Valentine's Day

Katelee and I pulled out all our Valentine's Day decorations on Tuesday, and we were disappointed to remember how few Valentine's Day decorations we actually owned. So, thanks to inspiration from Pinterest (my newest addiction), we decided to make more decorations! We pulled out the paper and cricut, and made this sweet little flag banner together. We love it!

We also got creative with pipe cleaners, and made these heart chains together.

Super cheap, easy and cute!

Now our house feels ready for Valentine's Day! ;)

Speaking of Pinterest ideas and romance, I made this cake for Gerald for our 10th anniversary last week, based off a cake I saw on Pinterest. I think it's so sweet and romantic.

I am grateful I have had a bit of a creative outlet lately. It's a small break from daily life and it has brought me joy and satisfaction - little and insignificant as these things are. These experiences remind me of one of my favorite talks by President Uchtdorf. In it he says:

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.

Yay for creativity. Now I'm off to create a clean kitchen. ;)

For Jake and Grandparents

Blake's birthdad, Jake, lives far away right now, as well as Blake's grandparents, so we wanted to upload some recent videos of Blake for them to see. These are just videos of Blake and I hanging out...I sound pretty ridiculous sometimes, but I guess I have no shame when it comes to trying to make my baby smile . . . sometimes you just have to sound silly! ;)

He has some great smiles in this one. :)


Happy boy just hanging out . . . and sneezing. :)


Blake works hard to talk in this one. :)

NEW FAMILY PICTURES!

I am blessed to know many talented and gifted people. One of the most talented people I know is my wonderful cousin, Elena. Pretty much she is GREAT at everything she does. :) And she is completely generous when it comes to sharing her talents with others. While we were recently visiting Arizona, Elena offered to take some new family photos for us. I was thrilled! We had a lovely time at the lake taking pictures, and they turned out every bit as beautiful as I had hoped. Thank you, Elena! Here are some of my favorites:

(I can't wait to print this one huge and hang it in my house!)

If you live in the Mesa, Arizona area, or know anyone who does, I can't recommend Elena highly enough! Call her up for your next family pictures . . . you won't be sorry. She is probably the most professional and talented photographer I've ever worked with - truly amazing! Her photography website is http://thurstonphotographs.blogspot.com/.

Now, I'm off to print new pictures - yay!

Daddy Bonding Time

Blake and Gerald love to spend their bonding time napping together!

I have dozens of these pictures. These are some of my favorites.

Two Front Teeth

Shortly before Christmas, Katelee lost her second tooth!

They are both bottom front teeth. So, even though they aren't her top teeth, we said she could sing, "All I Want for Christmas are my Two Front Teeth." :)

We think she looks adorable!

While we were taking pictures, Katelee wanted to throw in a few of her own poses.

This girl has my heart completely smitten. Those eyes! Those freckles! That smile! She takes my breath away, and I feel so, so lucky to be able to call her my daughter.

I love you, princess!