Rub-a-dub-dub

Rub-a-dub-dub

Blake loves the tub!
Katelee and I give Blake a bath most evenings (when he doesn't take a shower), and he LOVES this bathtime! In fact, I think his bathtime is a favorite time of day for all of us. Just look at those smiles! ;)

When you have three *adorable!* chins, you have to clean in those folds really well.

Katelee loves to make Blake smile.

I love those curls!

Favorite time of day!

Katelee is in charge of rinsing. :)

What a helper! She has the towel all ready!

Snug and warm in cozy p.j.'s. I love Blake's hair wet!

One happy boy!

Siblings

Since Katelee was only months old, I have longed for her to have a sibling. She has wanted the same thing for years now.

This is only one way that Blake has helped make our dreams come true.

I love that they have each other so much, that at home I've taken to calling them 'brother' and 'sister' more than any other nickname. I just being able to call them that!

Nothing has made me happier as a parent than to see the bond these two share. I know he is a newborn baby, but the love he has for Katelee is unmistakable. She can soothe him so quickly, and he loves to cuddle with her. And Katelee adores him with all her heart. They already share a very special, tangible bond, and I am excited and eager to see how their relationship grows over the years.

Here are a few of my favorite pics of the two of them together, along with some of my favorite quotes about siblings.

Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk. - Susan Scarf Merrell

A sibling may be the keeper of one's identity, the only person with the keys to one's unfettered, more fundamental self. - Marian Sandmaier

If you want to know how your girl will treat you after marriage, just listen to her talking to her little brother. - Sam Levenson

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. - Desmond Tutu

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. - Marc Brown

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li

More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you've been bad and good. ~Linda Sunshine

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

(Saying good-bye on her way out the door for school.)
There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother. - Terri Guillemets

Blake had to lay in the sunshine everyday when he still had a touch of jaundice. Katelee liked to keep him company.

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet. ~Vietnamese Proverb

I don't believe an accident of birth (or adoption) makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at. ~Maya Angelou

One Year

A year ago today, my dad passed away.


I want to spend the day thinking of him, remembering him, and making sure my kids know what a wonderful person he was.

I miss him everyday, and wish I could just pick up the phone and call him. I would love to hear the sound of his voice. I would love to see him hold Blake in his arms and see how grown-up Katelee is getting. He always loved his grandkids. I wish I could make plans to see him soon.

How grateful I am for the plan of salvation, to know that I will get to see him and hear his voice and spend time with him again someday.

Click here or here to read more about my amazing dad.

week with reynolds

The day after Christmas, we loaded up the car and headed for Arizona to spend the week with the Reynolds side of the family! This was our first time seeing mom and dad's new home. It's beautiful! We also really enjoyed spending lots of time with the Curtis family (Gerald's sister) who live just down the street!

We made lots of fun memories, including:

• Spending lots of time outside, as the weather was beautiful! Katelee loved jumping on the trampoline, running around with her cousins, and walking to the park to play.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Visiting the Mesa Temple to see their fabulous light display. It was stunning, as always!

Warm and snug. :)

• Visiting the Mesa Temple visitors center, where we got to see nativity sets from around the world. Beautiful! This made me really want to start a nativity collection...

We loved this one from Kenya made from soda cans.

• Blake got to meet his Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds for the first time, as well as Aunt LaVon, Uncle Kelly, on all the cousins. :) Naturally, everyone loves him to pieces!

• Going to Grandma and Grandpa's favorite restaurant, Organ Stop Pizza. It was really fun! They have a show and music while you eat, featuring a professional organist with all the stops and whistles. Think bubbles, dancing animals, drums, cymbals, lights, flags, etc. He takes and plays requests all evening, and he played my request of Phantom of the Opera. We all think this would be the perfect job for grandpa someday. :)

Katelee loved the show!

Like father, like son. ;)

Blake slept right through the whole performance. :) We'll have to go again someday when he is older and can enjoy it more.

• Visiting the sight where the new Gilbert temple is being built. If you know Gerald, the design and construction of temples is his passion! He really enjoyed the presentation they have there where you can learn all about the temple, it's design, and even see the floor plans, etc.

• Being silly! Katelee loved playing with her cousins. :) And their toys.
  

• Swimming! Yes, swimming in December! Gotta love Arizona winters. :) This was Katelee's dream come true!

• Watching It's a Wonderful Life and snuggling with grandma. :)

• Making gingerbread houses - a Reynolds' family tradition and always a ton of fun!

Creating . . . or eating?

• Playing Just Dance on the Wii! With additional singing provided by Katelee. Love it! :)
  

• Celebrating a Happy New Year! We enjoyed delicious hawaiian haystacks for dinner and our traditional fruit slush - YUM! Then we played games, including Chutes and Ladders and pool. We counted down and hollered and were just generally silly! What a fun New Years' Eve with grandma and grandpa!

• On New Years Day, Gerald sang a duet with his mom at church. Then we loaded up the car and started our LONG road trip home.

We were sad to leave our family, we had such a wonderful time making memories and spending time together! But we had been gone for 17 long days, and were also ready to get back home and back to normal. It took two days to get home, we stayed a night in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But the road trip went smoothly, the kiddos being GREAT travelers as always. :) We took this picture of Blake in his car seat around the time we crossed the New Mexico / Colorado border.