Thanksgiving 2013

We made it back to Orange County for Thanksgiving! This picture was taken post flight (we flew in the night before) which was kind of horrendous considering Georgia skipped her afternoon nap and we had to endure a layover and a delay and she was screaming bloody murder for half of the 2nd flight. We decided no more layovers in the future. I was glad when Thanksgiving morning came and with it, a happy baby and the sun:

There was lots of yummy food and I made my momma's chocolate banana cream pie again:

Love the way she's holding on to Uncle Jordy's hand.

 Oh and she has an outfit change because she tried to swallow a little toy ring and ended up barfing all her insides out! Poor thing. There were just so many kids and toys everywhere...

Chandice always has cute ideas for the kids and she decided to take them all outside in the gazebo and put dance music on for the kids and they all had a blast dancing their bums off for hours! Even Georgia was shaking her booty, clapping, and laughing along with it all.

It was so entertaining that most of the grown ups ended up going outside to watch them all. Wish I could show off their amazing moves, but the video is too long  and won't load :(. In the middle of it Zach said "This right here is why we want to move back." All those cousins and family time is missed so much! 

Georgia loved it at Nana's & Papa's house! She was so good and they had plenty of toys, though she was happier taking all their many remotes and holding them to her ear like a phone and saying "hi". And she was of course obsessed with crawling straight over to the stairs and climbing up them. So different from our stairs that go down that we try to avoid! 

The next day, Cathy and Frank took some of the grand kids out to see Frozen in the theater. We decided to test it out and see how long G would last. During the previews:

She did pretty good sitting through most of the movie with plenty of snacks and milk, but with about 45 minutes left, she just wanted to crawl down the ramp and out the door over and over. But we stuck it out and watched the ending standing up in the back! Not bad... I on the other hand was feeling a little blue as we had gone to find out the gender of baby #2 just before the movie.... a boy!! I was shocked and overwhelmed! Shed a few tears because I so badly wanted two little sisters (and for selfish reasons, to bring out Georgia's cute clothes that she had so quickly grown out of...) who shared everything, much like my sisters that I love so much! But that is ridiculous, none of my sisters are close to me in age so it doesn't really matter. Truth is, I just didn't feel ready for a boy, but when does that ever matter in the game of life? One thing I know, this one better look like me this time! haha. Anyway, there I was, sitting in a movie based on two sisters... of course :). But all in all, a good night.

On Saturday we had dinner with Zach's high school friends who now all have baby girls (except one slow poke who is behind, but engaged, so on his way) and it was so fun to see them all! 

Then Zach ditched me to go to his 10 year reunion and texted me halfway through to say how pitiful and boring it was and he was glad I didn't have to be there. I enjoyed a nice night (minus accidentally sitting in the dog bed couch chair -______-) at my Aunt's home in Laguna Niguel with my brother and his roommate. Good food and crazy kids!

We always make some time for the beach now that we don't live near it and Newport Pier is one of my favorite places ever. 

The water wasn't too cold and Georgia was obsessed! Would have dived right in if we weren't holding her up. She was killing me with her chubby white legs, splashing frantically in the water and trying the chase the waves when they went back in. My baby was meant to live near the beach :( I love her so much! Oh and there's a little baby bump showing at 17 weeks:

And we ALWAYS make time for Jane's amazing chili cheese fries and root beer freeze :) so so good.

We also got to visit with our friends Andrew & Kelly Yorgason. We love them! 

Such a perfect and beautiful day.

On Monday, we mosied on down to Newport again with Jordan.

Said goodbye to the beach...

And stopped in at my old stomping grounds :) good ole Irvine Company! This was not my desk, but one I spent a lot of time at while there! Good memories.

 I also tried to work some connections in hopes of someday finding Zach a job with them... then we could move back where it never snows!! Keeping my fingers crossed...

Finally it was time to fly home, so iPad in hand, we made it safely and without any tears this time. Thank goodness! 

It was such a fun trip, I wasn't ready to leave. We love visiting family and friends during the holidays! And this year was a "special" Thanksgiving - I realized I have been pregnant for the last TWO in a row (if you consider that special) but I guess I am grateful that we are able to have a growing family and sealed in the temple because I love them more than anything! Happy Thanksgiving :)

Around Our House

After Halloween I was reluctant to take down my spooky mantle and bats, proud of them as I was, but I finally got out the boxes and starting packing away. I asked Zach to get out the Christmas boxes and as soon as I started unpacking those, I got excited all over again! Within a day or two, I had things up and running! Our pitiful simple tree:

That's right, I don't even have ornaments... just bows haha. And no tree topper. Sad I know! But we aren't even spending Christmas at home so I didn't go all out. Maybe next year.

Our Christmas mantle (many thanks again to my mother in law's great decor gifts!): 

I have yet to find a stocking for Georgia...

I even got into the crafting mode and created my own holiday trees since the ones in store are so expensive! Especially for a set... so I brought out the glue gun am pretty happy with how my $4 homemade trees turned out. Not bad!

Lately there has been plenty of cold weather and snow which makes for the perfect remake of Home Alone icy steps (I laugh when I think of Harry & Marv slipping and sliding around on those icy steps - one of my all-time favorite childhood movies!) so we really have to be careful when we use them.

Also around here, I have regained a lot of my energy and have been channeling my inner Big Sister and taking over Kelly's persona as dabbling/gourmet kitchen queen!! Making everything from scratch (something I didn't even know I had in me) there has been no shortage of blueberry muffins:

 Sugar cookies with frosting:

 Mini oreo-crust cheesecakes:

 My momma's Chocolate Banana Cream Pie (ok, I didn't make the crust from scratch but that is just too boring for me!):

Carnival Cruise Line's Chocolate Melting Cake! We have been on two of their cruises and ate at least one if not two of these cakes every night for dessert! They were my favorite and I have dreamt of them for so long! One day, while perusing instagram, the actual recipe was posted and I was SO excited, I couldn't wait to try it. I remember exactly how it should've tasted and this really was an exact replica. I loved every bite. So happy to have this cake whenever my heart desired :) and not just while cruising up a coast.

And even Buttermilk Pancakes!!! I didn't even really like pancakes until a couple of years ago when my husband again turned me over to the darkside.

  And simultaneously being against pre-made mixes AND making things from scratch, I have never EVER wanted to make pancakes, they seem so messy and not worth the time, but these were so easy and worth every bite :) can't believe it took me years to do this.

 Too bad the only ones who benefit from all this yummy fatty goodness around here besides us, are Krissy & Matt and the occasional neighbor or visiting family/friends :(

Seriously, my home is always open if anyone wants to have in on this!! 

I'll even make you dinner if you come see me - chicken & pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil and lemon cream sauce anyone? 

Consider me desperate and this as a high calorie bribe - any company in this freezing weather is welcome these days!

Despite missing lots of family and friends, this has been one of the best holiday seasons we've had since being married! 

Georgia @ 11 Months

Our little bean is growing like a weed! At her last check up, she was in the 97th percentile for height @ 30 inches and 60th for weight @ 20 lbs - we love her so much!!

She is on the go 24/7 and most days she leaves me exhausted!

Checkin' out our plain & sad Christmas tree:

By now we've switched her over to whole milk! I debated on whether or not to wait another month, but I'm so glad I didn't! She didn't have any problems and if anything, she immediately stopped having blowouts - TMI for you but YAY for me and significantly less laundry these days (not to mention the milk turned everything white! threw us for a loop. she's literally laying golden eggs these days... haha again sorry for the TMI)!

She is always following me around, loves to be in the kitchen with me and spends most of her time pulling herself up against the oven and talking into the window and hanging onto my legs. She LOVES to go up and down the stairs but like a BIG girl, one step at a time holding on to us, so we try to distract her because that gets extremely boring/annoying after a few thousand ups & downs. She is getting more confident with walking along furniture and standing on her own, she's so close and I can't wait till she's walking by herself! 

She's so tall, I find all her shirts and pants are pretty much too short for her! I'm trying to squeeze her in for a few more wears, but she already needs bigger clothes! 

Her hair is finally starting to come in a little, except for the blasted sides haha looks like a little mohawk is coming in. But I love the wispy hair in the back and I love playing with it, I can't wait till it comes in more! Too bad that still won't be for another year or so...we still have never had to give her a haircut. 

She has four teeth in on the bottom now and her two front top teeth are coming in slow and VERY far apart, makes me laugh all the time.

She is starting to say "hi" and wave more at other people and LOVES to clap when you say "yaaaay" she does it almost every time. She loves dancing to music and shaking her booty! She thinks any dessert or drink we have is instantly hers if she sees it, she grunts and taps her foot and smacks her lips until we give in. Can't help it, like every first child, she's spoiled rotten. We love her so much! 

Pictures From The Last Month

Dinners with Auntie Kris & Uncle Mott (which include sometimes barfing all over their floor and having to borrow Auntie's shirt...which happens to fit quite nicely):

 Yes, it says "wokitout" where on earth did she get that from...

 Check-ups: 

 Happy & healthy! I love her faces :)

Early morning cartoons...

...in warm pj's and all kinds of places:

 Snapchatting family:

Trying out the hipster look with her daddy's beanie:

And visits to Auntie's work!

 She even pulled out some bubbles which Georgia LOVED! 

 She had so much fun trying to catch them. And we enjoyed lunch and cheesecake :)

 I love this girl enough to want to match her on a regular basis hahaha this fun will only last so long before my ward robe becomes "mom clothes" without my knowledge so I'm taking advantage :)

A Long Awaited Blanky

After Georgia was born, my big sis wanted to make her baby a blanket!! Such a sweet gesture... just had to wait 6 months for it ;) but obviously it was worth the wait:

Checkin' out the soft minky:

This thing is gorgeous! My mother in law helped me pick out the fabric, since she's the ultimate fabric guru.

This thing was huge!! I was so excited to replace her tiny newborn blankets that hardly covered her anymore, I never found her cuddled up in them.

And 10 minutes into her first nap with it:

My heart melted! Thanks so much sis, I really think she sleeps much better now :) we love this blanky so much and take good care of it. You're the best! Thanks for all the endless hours spent at the sewing machine procrastinating in front of the tv bahaha just kidding. It's beautiful and we LOVE it!

Our Family Pictures 2013

I was so excited to take our first pictures as a family and thanks to my sister in law, Steph, they turned out great :) she's the best!

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!!!