.

.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Favorite Moments of 2014

New year is upon us and I wanted to take a second to reflect on a few of my favorite memories of 2014...
In February we celebrated our 2 year anniversary by going on a little trip to St. George. My parents have the cutest house down there they let us stay in to celebrate another year of marriage coming, and going. Kylie was about 7 months old. We had such a blast hiking, where I can honestly say for the 1st time in me life I enjoyed hiking. I have to say my marriage to this man of mine is seriously blessed by the heavens... I'm honestly so in love with him!!!

In July our baby girl turned ONE!! We had the best birthday party for her, went to the zoo and later went on a Lake powell trip. I could not believe we had a one year old on our hands now. She was a colicky newborn who only wanted me to hold her, but by the time she reached this milestone she was a dream baby! She has been to this day :) she is so smiley, talkative, and giving. 

 This year was tough with Russell going to school for bio medical engineering full time and working at the University of U's hospital full time. One of the things I look back on and cherish is all that one on one time her and I were able to have together. I really loved our dates to the park for her to swing on the swings , our libraries baby storytime, visiting grandma's, girls trips + lunch dates. She truly was my best buddy this year. 


I found out probably mid august that I was pregnant. I'd been breastfeeding Kylie before that so I honestly didn't have a clue how far a long I was. Russell and I guessed I was just 9 weeks when we had our first doctors appt to find out I was actually 13 weeks pregnant! At 16 weeks we got to have the coolest experience thanks to my bro in law Steve, where we got to find out that we were expecting a boy at my parents house during a family sunday dinner! 
In fall we got to help with my little brothers lip dup youtube proposal. I was 5 months pregnant but still wanted to dance in the video for him. It was just a blast to get together with friends + family and celebrate love together! My family is tight and do a lot of things together, and I'm thankful for that! Of course we had to go big for our littlest brother!

This year our one main holiday Russell was going to have completely off from work was Thanksgiving. It seemed appropriate being the holiday that's all about being thankful :) I was thankful to get him for at least one major holiday. We even baked our first homemade pie together  for the occasion. I was sicker then a dog, but he was there helping me navigate bedrest and hospital visits.

Kylie's 2nd Christmas at 17 months! I never posted a picture of her outfit for xmas day. We missed Daddy on Christmas eve, and Christmas night this year. She has used her big girl potty more then a couple of times, is great at saying "please", and "thank you". Her cutest thing she started doing was when I ask her if she wants something she'll shake her head very slowly and literally whisper a girly "no". 

My little brother got married in December! Kylie killed me in her grey dress + sparkly gold shoes. Seeing her twirling around the reception + blowing kisses at friends makes this mama's heart jump. 

2014 was a great year with great memories, but also was tough for both Russell + I. We definetly don't like hardly ever seeing each other and are excited for some changes in 2015 that will change that! I'm so thankful for the women in my life I have, best friends I can talk to for hours on the phone, email on missions, and mom's that are always there for a visit :) excited to see what 2015 will hold!!! One thing I know for sure is that we'll be a family of 4!!!! 

Monday, December 29, 2014

Daddy's Little Girl


Kylie + my husband's relationship kill me. Being more sick Russell has been getting Kylie in the mornings. I love listening to her happy squeals when Dada walks into the room, her little yells in the kitchen for Nana (banana), and having her come into the bedroom with Dad following behind her yelling out MAMA!!! Russell taught her ring around the rosies, and she never wants to stop doing it with him. I swear this little girl is going to like Roller coasters on account of how much she loves Russell turning her upside down, or throwing her around. The picture above is forever going to be my favorite, they'd snuck it on my phone while I was in the bathroom. I mean, look at how she's closing her eyes for the kiss... awe.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Late Night Ramblings



One more week and I'm in the 3rd trimester. One more week and I'm 7 months pregnant. My oh my have I been sick. I honestly was surprised when this pregnancy took such a down turn. I was used to nausea and throwing up, but the pain really threw me through a loop. ER visits, heating pads, pain meds, all didn't do much. I'm a firm believer in our intuition + I remember telling Russell that I just felt like something was off here. Not necessarily worried it has to do with our baby (2 ultrasounds + he's looked perfect in both). I feel like somethings off with me, that it's my body this time around that's struggling for whatever reason. Also, his positioning just seems like he's already dropped and ready to pop out any day now. I've been told go take it easy, but I didn't feel as off as I've felt these past couple of days. I truly am now embracing bedrest. It's been hard for me to have to rely on others, I hate being a "bother". This experience is definetly humbling me. I've been amazed at the love people have shown me, the meals dropped off, the visits, the cookies, it's all been appreciated more then you know. I never realized how just checking in or visiting someone whose struggling or sick is such a sweet ray of sunshine for that person. It's definetly made me want to pay forward this love when I do get feeling better. 


Taking things too personally... My biggest trial in life, haha not really, but can be a little. I can't tell you all how many times I've committed to myself I was going to glide through life, serene, with a smile, never ever allowing others to affect this new found inner peace. I was going to be myself, bubbly Amber.... yeah it was a nice thought there for a while. As I'm getting older I've been surprised I still allow my inner peace to get disturbed.  I want to get to know myself. I want to be the real Amber that's within me regardless what the world says, or other people may say. I'm really embracing this new chapter of being a mom of 2 with a determination to come to know myself more, and by knowing myself more, loving myself more. I have discovered there is a huge correlation in the importance of first loving ourselves before we can fully love those around us. 

Do you get hurt when you feel misjudged or misunderstood? A part of the reason I do is because I know deep down I'm a good person. I know everyone's perceptions, and stories are so vastly different that people will misunderstand, or judge us wrong. I just hope I can slowly figure out how to love myself in such a way I don't take things personally. I don't want to be afraid to be myself, to be authentic, even if by being that way it makes me more vulnerable to judgements. This is totally just random musings from psychology books I've been reading . 

....the end....

Friday, December 5, 2014

25 Things


Cheesy post: How do I begin saying how much I love this eternal boyfriend of mine. I just wanted to make a list of things I love about him, 25 things to be exact

1. Wants to play with Kylie
2. Works full time + is a full time student for a hard degree so I can be a stay at home mom. He advocates for me to be home with the kids
3. Never ever complains about his job.
4. Serves me everyday
5. Cooks for us + is willing when I just don't feel up to it
6. Best laugh
7. handyman around our little house
8. Takes an interest in the things I like even when I know it's not really something he's into
9. Always let's me pick the restaurant
10. Always let's me pick the movies as well
11. Loves all my friends and makes an effort to get to know them
12. charismatic + kind
13. Spiritually is always teaching me how to draw closer to the spirit + my father in heaven
14. Rubs my back every night, and apologizes if he accidentally falls asleep while doing so... I mean come on
15. Has been coming home for his short lunches to vacumm and mop the house so I won't, being on bedrest
16. He's hot
17. Naturally in amazing physical strength, but wants to stay fit + healthy for our kids
18. Lights up when we talk about our son
19. Texts me everyday, throughout the day no matter how hectic, just so I know he cares
20. Writes love notes on the bathroom mirror for me
21. He'd sacrifice anything for me and I know it. If I was cold he'd give me the shirt off his back
22. Doesn't allow anyone to mistreat or bully when he's around.
23. His testimony
24. His love for his lds mission he served
25. His love for jalapeƱos

Monday, December 1, 2014

Hello December

December is here + the merriment as already begun at the Barker home. We chose the day after Thanksgiving (like the majority of folks) to decorate our little home. Personally I like spending and celebrating each holiday as it comes, resisting the urge to skip over them. Thanksgiving day was another tough day for me, pregnancy wise, but I knew with Russell's insane schedule Friday was the best day to get our Christmas on. There is something so joyful, + fulfilling about seeing that christmas tree all lit up. Kylie has been amazing with the tree, and hasn't even tried to take the ornaments off. The ones Russell did lower to the ground he secured pretty well to the tree I don't think her little hands could manage anyways. 
This Christmas is going to be a very special one again this year. I grew up with amazing parents who always made christmas a grand event. I don't remember a Christmas we didn't have presents. I didn't get married till I was 22, I always had my own job, which allowed me to always have enough to spend on friends, family, and myself. There were a lot of frivolous purchases made during this time, haha, but I could, so why not.  It's been different since having Kylie. Russell is still in school, and I'm a stay at home mom. For the first time in my life I've been experiencing Christmas's where it is more tight. At first I was more sad about this predicament, but I have come to realize buying stuff isn't what makes this holiday great. These two Christmas's have been full of such spirit for us. 

Christmas is great because it celebrates our Savior. It's a time to draw closer to our families. It's a time to reach out in service and love. It's a time to forgive and let go that years resentments. For me I'm learning to make the most of this holiday even when we have little on account of Russell still being in school. Russell and I have asked for more homemade gifts from each other this year. We are planning on sledding, seeing the lights, making sugar cookies, decorating gingerbread houses, and watching lots of Christmas movies!!! I'm excited for egg nog, family get togethers, having hot cocoa by our fireplace. I don't want to get caught in the trap where you somehow feel your Christmas will lack without more financial means. And I hope other families, like ours who still have their husbands in school, don't feel that pressure either. Christmas can be amazing, full of traditions, without spending a lot of dough. For example I wanted to get Kylie her own tree, but little trees can even be costly. So I thought our branches we used for our thankful tree would do just nicely for her to personally decorate. She loved putting the ornaments I got from target on it. Someday I know we will look back on these more humble Christmas's with a sense of sweet joy from those sweet memories that were made. 
Thomas S. Monson 2013 Christmas devotional... 
"Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, or the buying of gifts. We find the real joy of Christmas when we make the Savior the focus of the season."

Sunday, November 9, 2014

ER Visit while 22 Weeks pregnant



Hospitals...needles....the incredibly sterile environment....the smell... not a place I like to go spend my Saturday mornings but that's exactly what we did this Saturday. About 2 days ago I started just experiencing the worst upper back pain, I mean this pain felt deep inside my entire chest, shoulder blades, lungs. I remember sneezing and just thinking WOW that was brutally painful. I really wanted to chalk it up to just a strain muscle, so I ignored it. Saturday morning came and I just felt like this isn't muscle pain because when Russell tries to rub me it hurts, I mean my entire back is tender to the touch. I called my OB explaining the pain, honestly suspecting she'd tell me it was just plain old stretching pregnancy pains. She did not, she advised me to get myself into the ER. It wasn't the most fun experience sitting there for hours as they did test after test. There was one moment that will haunt me, a nurse had come in to listen to our boys fetal heartbeat. With our boy, finding his heart as been a piece of cake, I mean they put that heart monitor on my tummy and immediately we can hear him. This time he was NOT finding it....... Russell and I were pale, staring in anticipation at the nurse when finally he found it. I can't adequately explain that moment and the fear I felt of thinking something could honestly be wrong.

After hearing the heartbeat and being reassured that our little boy sounded very strong and healthy Russell's and my hearts were a little more at ease, though we still didn't know what was wrong. In a few minutes the nurse that had been taking care of me came in the room to tell us some good and some unsettling news. She first told us that my chest x-ray was normal, and there were no infections they could find through other tests. She then proceeded to explain that although that was a good thing, that this pain I was feeling and still feel was not anything normal. She said the only other explanation they could think of would be a blood clot, or a pulmonary embolism, but further explained that this was not something easily detected. She said they would have to do a CT scan and use a radioactive trace die that would give a lot of radiation to me, but minimal to the baby. She also cautioned us on how this could affect me.

After talking with her for a while about whether or not to do this test Russell and I decided to wait and see if symptoms would get worse in the next day or two. If they did then we would call and probably go straight in to the ER and get the test. As of right now, we are still waiting but I have to say, I am not feeling much better yet, even with pain medication. So we are in the waiting stage. I am still in incredible pain. The pain I feel, feels akin to how someone must feel after a major surgery. That is the best update we can give right now. Some have asked what they could do. My first inclination is to say, oh we are fine, don't ya worry yourself now. But honestly we love visits, texts of love, and homemade bread lol hahahaha :)

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Marriage and my thoughts


MARRIAGE

I have to say that Russell is my rock! He took work off to be by my side the entire day yesterday, even having to be in charge of checking my pulse every few hours. I can't begin to say how thankful I am to be married to this man. I remember thinking when we got married it'd be full of fun activities, trips, etc. I realize now that the day to day mundane activities we do together, I mean the same things we do every day together still seems exciting because I'm doing them with him! We fell in love, and we took the plunge together as a married couple to start a family even though he still needed to finish school. We had the faith to trust that we could live on a small income so that I could be a stay at home mom for our children. There are things the world would have you believe you are sacrificing, like fun vacations, date nights, money to shop, but in reality what we've gained is SO much more!!!!

I would say my biggest lesson I've learned about marriage is the principle of servant-hood, focusing on serving Russell. The next biggest lesson I've learned is that I am in charge of my happiness, not him. I am in charge of doing things to take care of myself to be a fun happy person to be around. I mean who wants to be around the person that is grumpy and hard to please? This especially applies to my spirituality. When I have the spirit with me I am more pleasant, happy, and kind. I need to take the time everyday to connect with my Father in Heaven. The third biggest lesson I've learned is to communicate my wants and needs to Russell. Easy example is me texting the following, "hey today was really rough with Kylie, could you give me a back-rub tonight, and be extra sweet to me?" Such a simple text to send him, and immediately clues Russell into how I'm feeling and what I'm hoping for later. If I didn't clue him in and just "expected" him to sense my day was hard and I need extra affection, I will end up being let down because he's not a mind reader.

My marriage is better and more amazing then I even dreamed it could be. Does that mean Russell and I have never had disagreements? HAHAHAHA I wish, but we have. Does that mean all our date nights are amazing well thought out creative excursions? Heck no, we defenietly are a grab a bite to eat and watch a movie cuddled up in bed later. My marriage is amazing because I'm married to my soul mate. I really feel like I have been given a dream partner to share life with and while that is a gift, it is also a huge responsibility. The desire I have to see my husband happy is surprisingly overwhelming for me. He is my one and only! That's what gives me the motivation to wake up everyday, and try harder to be a better version of myself so that Russell could say the same things about me.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Thankful Tree Tradition

November is here, and that means Thanksgiving month is here. I love the holidays, I love how they give you something to look forward to each month. I feel like November often gets overlooked because everyone is so eager to celebrate christmas. I really want to make a conscious effort to celebrate everything this month means! I don't think it's a coincidence that this holiday falls right before christmas. Russell and I want to concentrate on gratitude and being thankful! I saw this Thankful tree on pinterest and fell in love. Each day of this month we are handmaking our own leaves to place on the "tree" with things we are grateful for. 

When we started this today I turned and asked Kylie what she'd be thankful for. She was holding her book in her hand, looked at me and said "books", may or may not have been a legit answer but it went on the tree nontheless. I'm excited to add more and more leaves to our tree. Russell and I also want to concentrate on doing random acts of kindness this month to show our gratitude to family, friends, and neighbors. I love baking so a lot of these acts may be goodies on doorsteps haha. I love these holidays!!!


Saturday, November 1, 2014

Happy Halloween


This Halloween was so much fun! My favorite animal is elephants, I collect basically elephant anythings, and since Kylie's birth I've been forcing this elephant love onto her. It goes without saying that this costume was a no brainer for me. The moment we put her in it I was gone....I mean I was so infatuated with how freaking adorable she looked. This mama had a perm grin the whole night. 
We had Kylie walk her little cute self to the door + even pick out the candies for herself. I really should say Russell had us do that, he's always been so good at letting her do tasks that I at first wonder if she can even accomplish. She was a trooper all night trick or treating my parents neighborhood in South Jordan. I mean the only time she fussed is when we had her take the candy from her vice like grip to put it in her basket so she could grab the next candies at the next house. We have so much candy now, I think our movie night stash is full for the next while.  I love Holidays, mainly because each month they give you something to celebrate and look forward to! I am dreading the colder months mainly because as a mom it keeps you stuck indoors more. I just don't picture me braving the snow for a walk in the stroller. Also, date nights are so much harder to plan cheaply! Any great winter date ideas that are low cost pass my way!

My 2 favorite humans right there folks!!!

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Kylie is 16 months


Kylie you are beautiful. You are my greatest joy. I love watching you everyday surprise me with something new you can do or say. You constantly make people swoon when they see you blow kisses and say hello to them. You are the cutest little thing. We took you to Wheeler farm and found it so funny how you just wanted to take off. I think you are retiring from wanting to use your stroller, don't know how I'm going to like that. But holding that little hand of yours is always fun! I didn't know I could love a little person as much as I love you. I have a love hate relationship with having you babysat. While I love the one on one time it gives your dad and I to go out, I freaking miss you and spending that time with you. I find myself always waking up a few minutes before you just missing you, waiting to hear you stir so I can bust in your room and see you. I crave your attention, your laughs, your kisses, and your hugs! One of my favorite games to play with you of late is hide and seek. It is so adorable watching you squeal and baby jog to come find me! I didn't know I was capable of loving someone this much!

16 Month Stats
Weight: 20 pounds 11 ounces, 40%
Height: 47% percentile
Head: 96% percentile

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Our announcement .....

I am no longer sick!!!! It is such a relief to be able to type that sentence! I am in my 18th week, and finally have gained some pregnancy weight. I want to thank all those who've inquired into how I'm feeling! This pregnancy has been already a roller coaster of emotions for me. I orginally wanted to wait longer to have a second, and then being so incredibly sick made it hard to really enjoy being pregnant again. Now I can honestly say I am ecstatic about being pregnant especially because we found out that we are having a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to have my little man! I'm already thinking about ties, suspenders, denim jeans, beanies, plaid, bow ties and all the fun things you get to dress boys in. Kylie is going to have so much fun with a little brother. I think about my own little brother and how fun it was. Russell and I have picked a name but we are keeping it between family and close friends for now.

People along with not feeling sick October is here, which means fall is here!!! Leaves are changing color and pumpkin desserts are here!!!! We've enjoyed decorating, pumpkin picking, and being out in nature!!!! I've already purchased Kylie's Halloween costume and let me just say I am dying to see her in it!!!! Here's a few pics of our life lately....


Wednesday, October 1, 2014

In bed sick once more...

Not often do I get on our blog and post just personal feelings. I have never been a talented writer, and I always worry with longer posts how awful the spelling + grammer  will end up being. I hope those who are reading this will be kind and overlook my writing flaws. Tonight I'm home all alone in bed, Kylie is sound asleep in her room next to ours, Russell is working a late shift at the hospital, as he has been this entire fall semester. I'm resting after just barely being sick once more.

I have gotten sick every night but 1 this entire pregnancy. I am just thankful that when the nausea hits it is usually right after I've put Kylie down for bed. Since I was a little girl I hated being sick alone, my mom was amazing at taking care of us when we were sick. Having my man gone during these times is hard for me especially because every time I throw up I so worry if it's affecting the little life growing inside of me. I feel guilt that I'm on week 16 and I haven't kicked this morning sickness yet. They tell you every pregnancy is different, and who would have thunk their right again. I just hope this goes away magically one day haha.

Enough about sickness I bet ya all want to know what little Ms. Kylie has been up to. She is a full blown walker and dancer might I add. She babbles like no one's business, waves like a beauty queen, blows kisses perfectly, with the kiss smacking noise included. She is my best friend. I love chasing her around, dancing with her, running errands with her, and even feeding her (even though she's started to throw food on the ground when she's done...we're working on that one).

I love being a mom. I know being a stay at home mom is what I SHOULD be doing. But man even though I have a little person with me all day I can feel so lonely during these school semesters. It's funny how when we're feeling lonely, etc. thats when the adversary creeps in with his thoughts!? I find myself doubting my worth as a mother, if I really am doing my best with kylie. Makes me doubt if I'm a good enough friend to those I get to call my best friends. Makes me worry about vain things like apperance. Just a bunch of random crazy thoughts to make me basically just doubt my overall worth.

Satan is a nasty bugger that way. Sadly, some days I listen. Some days when those thoughts creep in I don't use that magical gift of the scriptures, or pray to my father who would confirm how worthwhile I really am. I'm ashamed to admit I have days I just wallow in self pity. I'm ashamed of it cuz I KNOW what to do to make that dark cloud over my head go away. As general conference approaches I find myself desiring to fully cast those self pity clouds that come and to be the sun that can shine in others days! General conference I love observing the women. Whether it's the general authorities wives, or members of the primary/ YW/ relief society organizations. Those women have that quality I aspire to. They are women with true self confidence, humility, and kindness.  In my quest to become that type of woman. I can't let satan get me down, because he will most definetly try. It's always when we set spiritual goals he sets his "goals" to destroy ours.

If you have been like me and have days you feel worthless read this quote by Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk was amazing and spoke to me about God's relationship with us:  “He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held on to the fading light and believed even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short and He still loves you.”

I know that is true for each and every one of us.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Baby Number #2


We decided to keep up the tradition in how we announce our pregnancies by snapping a picture of our feet. Who knew how hard it'd be to get a 13 month old to stand still for a picture, haha. We are still in a little shock abut this pregnancy, or rather I am. We weren't planning on getting pregnant quite as early as we are, but I don't want you to think that we aren't excited because we are. I am 14 weeks and officially in my 2nd trimester. Baby number 2 is due on March 19th, 2015.

This second pregnancy has already been very different from my first. With Kylie I got slight morning sickness that was more just a constant feeling of nausea. With this pregnancy I probably throw up 5 times a week. But there are some things that have been a good different. For the first time I'm continuing to workout while pregnant with my trainer Tracy Anderson ;). Tracy has a set of 9 DVD's that cover each month of pregnancy, and she's actually pregnant in the workout videos, which I like. Honestly the thought of working out while pregnant sounded, well, like no way, but when I actually do them my morning sickness isn't as bad the rest of the day.

I made a list of a few reasons why being pregnant has its awesome moments!

*You can eat whatever you want whenever you want.
*The special reserved parking spot for pregnant women at the grocery store.
*Your husband is extra nice to you. Requesting a foot massage is no big deal!

Cravings have been definitely different. When I was pregnant with Kylie I just wanted fruit, sunchips, and subway sandwiches. With baby #2 I went through a strange phrase where for a week I wanted chicken top ramen (I never eat Top Raman). Then it's settled to a constant want for green grapes, meats (like deli turkey breast), salads, tomato soup w/ saltines, and finally cookies (oatmeal). I think pregnancy cravings are so interesting, and I love hearing woman tell me the strange, normal, or random things that they craved while they were pregnant... (so please share some of yours)!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Kylie turned One






July 17th, 2014.... the date is finally here, my baby girl is officially a one year old! You hear Mom's say that the time just flew by, but I'll be completely honest, it feels like she is turning one. Kylie's newborn stage was a time I look back and think to myself, how did I ever get through it!? Mom's please don't beat yourselves up for not loving the newborn stage! I can share more about that later on. But slowly as each month went by Kylie's colic went away, and her personality began to shine through! Right at this moment I am completely head over heels in love with my daughter! She has the sweetest personality, and I'm just so lucky that she's mine!

Kylie is shy. She is the baby in the crowd you will see sitting back and observing everyone. She takes awhile to warm up to people. My friends are still hoping for the chance to hold her, haha. Once she warms up to people she'll babble away! She is strong willed, but aren't most girls? Russell has noticed that she wants her mommy and dads approval for the things she does. She will always look back at us to see if we're watching, and if we laugh at something she does she will giggle! She is a fun loving personality, she's independent but she likes to play with her mommy and daddy. She is very loving and cuddly (when she's not tired or hungry). She loves animals, I mean if she sees a dog she'll start wiggling and squealing at the creature. She loves music, singing to her is the quickest way to get her to calm down and smile. She also loves to sit at pianos and bang away. I am not musically inclined at all, so it will be fun if she ends up wanting and liking piano lessons. I still get stopped all the time when I'm out with her to be told just how pretty of a baby she is!



Last Saturday we celebrated her birthday in South Jordan with a party fit for a little lady! The theme was pink + gold. The weather was perfect, the company was fantastic, and Kylie was very chill the whole party just sitting back and enjoying it. She was given amazing presents and we truly feel so blessed for each and everyone of them.



I decided to just cut her a slice of her cake instead of giving her the entire cake to go at. She's pretty dainty, so I didn't really think she'd smash the cake anyways (and I'm a clean freak). Once we cut the slice and began to sing happy birthday, the cutest little thing happened. She looked up at me and at Russell and then burst into the cutest chubbiest little grin you ever did see! I'm so happy we captured it on the camera!!! For her actual birthday today we are taking our baby girl to see ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!! Mama is obsessed with said creatures, and already has her crib full of elephant stuff animals! I'm just so excited to see her squeal at the animals!!!



- - - - - - - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LITTLE LADY - - - - - - -
xoxo

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Easter



This was Our first Easter with our beautiful daughter Kylie. Last Easter Amber was 6 months pregnant with Kylie and getting bigger ever so slowly. This year it is Kylie who is growing and is already 9 months old. Amber's parents hosted a BBQ and Easter egg hunt at their house the Saturday before Easter. All the grand kids have so much fun being together! Kylie is turning out to be more of a shy baby then we'd imagined. She is very content to sit back and watch all the commotion of the adults and children going on around her. In fact, she is so observant and content that even when the other children come up and take whatever she has she just gives a funny face and just continues to watch.

Amber's family does a lot of get togethers while on the other hand Russell's family doesn't really seem to do any unless we inspire or provoke one (Russell's own words). On Easter Sunday we went over to Amber's parent's house after church to eat dinner and spend some more time together as a family. For dinner there was salad, Papa Murphy's Pizza, and Russell's personal favorite, a vanilla pudding orange jello bunny mold. One of the cutest things was watching Kylie's face as Russell let her try a little bit of the jello bunny and her not quite being able to decide whether or not she liked it. The weekend all-in-all was a fantastic weekend, we even stopped by for a short visit with Russell's parents. They mentioned having family events once a month so who knows, we might get to see the whole family from time to time.

We hope that you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!