Fishy Lips

Oh this picture cracks me up. On Thanksgiving my Dad pulled out his Nikon digital camera and was taking pictures of Mckayla. When I saw Mckayla doing her fishy lips, it had me rolling on the floor. She is such a hoot!

Thanksgiving

This year Justin, Mckayla, and I went to my parents house for Thanksgiving. The guests also included my twin sister Jessica and her husband Tim, some family friends, my little sister Alexis, and my parents. We had a honeybaked ham, as per my Dad's request, and enjoyed some other favorite dishes. I love the fall time and have so much in my life to be grateful for: my life, my husband, my sweet daughter, my twin sister, my parents, my testimony, my faith, the employment that Justin and I have, my education, and the list goes on. Thank you for all who bless my life!

Fall Hobbies

I have felt super crafy this fall. The first picture is a floral arrangement I put together. That was fun. The next two pictures are of an apple pie I made. This is the first apple pie I have ever made. Okay, so have you ever hear of Wisconsin's famous apple pie in a bag? I hadn't either until the other day I was browsing for new recipes on the foodnetwork (which is also another hobby of mine). They had a video of some cooks at the Elegant Farmer in Wisconisn showing how they make this pie. Ah, it looked so heavenly I had to try it myself. Mine turned out a little juicy inside, but it was so delicious with some vanilla icecream on top. The next picture is of my first diaper cake. It seems I have had lots of baby showers the past little while. I have put together some fun baby gifts for my friends. The last picture is of some little girl hair bows that I made. I have been super excited about learning how to make botique hair bows for Mckayla and to give away to my friends as gifts that have baby girls. I will keep you posted as to how my skill increases in this area. I have struggled making the "korker" bow. They are the curly cue ones that you see. You actually put the ribbon on a dowel, spray starch on it, and then put it in the oven. They were really fun to make.

Mckayla's 1st Birthday!

October 8th Mckayla turned one! On saturday we had a birthday party with friends and family. We served sweet pulled pork burritos with costa vida ranch sauce (I made this home made), fruit, veggies, and a peach/fresca punch. Mckayla's favorite part of her lunch was the grapes and strawberries. Mckayla also got to see her second cousin Ivy who is a month older than her (See the picture above of the two girls and the toy car). One of Mckayla's favorite toys was a Fisher Price cookie shape jar. Right before we were going to sing to Mckayla, she already dipped into her cake! She loved squishing it in her fingers. I don't know how much even made it to her mouth.

Justin and I can't believe our little girl is already one! Recapturing the moments that classify Mckayla: her smile that makes her eyes squinty, her sad cry when she falls down, her sweetness when she cuddles a stuffed animal, when she coos to see balloons, or lights, when she claps whenever you say "Yeah", when her eyes get all bright when she sees the baby einstein caterpillar on the DVD, when she runs away stark naked when you are trying to change her diaper, when you come into the kitchen and see her sitting in the drawer tearing up all the coupons and ads, when she keeps throwing her sippy cup on the floor so she can say "uh-oh", when you put her in her car seat and she turns around and stand up, and best of all when Daddy and Mommy go into the nursery to see Mckayla fast asleep! Thanks for the best year ever Mckayla!

Growing up so fast!

Mckayla is now walking all over. She has been able to take a few steps at the beginning of the month, and is now using walking as her main form of transportation. Mckayla is growing so fast. She is babbling a lot and loves to read books. She is such a daddy's girl right now too. Whenever he is around, she clings to him. We are getting excited to celebrate her first birthday!

One Step Closer

Mckayla is so close to walking. We hope she can walk on her own before her first birthday. The day she started crawling, she was also standing up next to anything she could possible hold onto. To help her with this goal, she walks with this toy car. Her favorite thing to do is push the smallest button on the car which plays music. This has gotten very old to mom and dad when it is played at 7:30 in the morning at the loudest volume ever. Despite its loud sounds, Mckayla has made great steps with this car. She can walk across a room pushing it, even going at a quick pace. She loves to sit and dance to the music too!

Hiking in the Uintahs

Justin and I took Mckayla hiking for the first time yesterday for the 24th of July. The weather was not too hot in the mountains, so that was nice. Once we reached Long Lake, we took a lunch break and Justin tried catching some fish.

Fun in the Sun!

Mckayla got to play in her first baby pool. She loved it. She was so happy the whole time.

Cousins

Mckayla and her cousin Caden Humpherys.

socks, socks, and more socks

I took this picture 4/12/09. I have wanted to blog about this picture, because I just thought it was so funny. One day I was getting ready to go out the door and when I looked at Mckayla in her car seat, she had pulled her sock off her foot and had it in her mouth. What a goof!

blogging help

Does anyone know how to fix the picture on the top of my blog so it is centered? Nevermind, my brilliant husband figured it out!!!!!!!!

4th Year Anniversary

May 25th 2009 Justin and I celebrated our 4th year wedding anniversary! We decided to get away for the weekend and stay at this cute little bed and breakfast called The Ellerbeck Mansion. For dinner we went to Trolley Square and ate at my all time favorite restaurant The Spaghetti Factory. On Saturday we went to the Hollywood Connection Center and partied like kids. We played arcade games, played miniature golf, and rode the bumper cars. Later that afternoon we got massages. Talk about a splendid and relaxing weekend!

Teach Me About Food Stoarge!

So, I have been really motivated lately to start working on getting a better food storage. I have checked out a ton of websites and am getting my shopping list prepared. I have set aside a monthly budget to get some items for our food storage. I first went onto a website to calculate how much food storage our family would need for two adults and one child. Next I am working on getting some good recipes so I know what ingredients I need to stock up on. Yesterday I got some gallon jugs of water from Albertsons for 1.00 each and then I also got some gallon gatorade powdwer mixes from Big Lots (1.00 each). I will keep my progress posted and any good deals I find on food storage products. Please comment on any of your favorite food storage products, tips, or ideas.

Ah, Not the Camera Again!

Mckayla just shy of 6 months.

My Job!

I'm an adoption caseworker for LDS Family Services. I have been an employee of LDS Family Services for almost three years now. Two of those years I was a secretary. I have my bachelor's degree in Social Work and am also a Social Service Worker (SSW) for the State of Utah. I truly have a passion for the work I do. My clients consist of adoptive couples and birth parents. I have helped facilitate our birth parent support group. Each birth mother has their own unique story and they all are the ultimate example of being selfless by placing a child into an adoptive couple's arms who are not able to have children on their own. These adopted children have a huge circle of people that love them. It has been a life changing experience to witness the miracle of adoption. It is truly a part of Heavenly Father's plan. Helping birth mothers in their adoption plan and helping adoptive couples recieve a child into their home is so rewarding!

Yum!

Mckayla: "Yum, I love my baby food." Mckayla has been eating baby food for a couple of weeks now. She loves the carrots, sweet potatoes, and bananas the most. It was so funny when I gave her a first taste of peas, she made a "blah" sound and it sounded like she was gagging on them. She must take after her Grandpa. He is not a fan of peas. :)

Out with Mom!

This is a picture of Mckayla and mommy at Red Robins. Mckayla: "Man, I wish I could try those french fries."