The Moses Family

Private Party

2012-01-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

I'm now the paranoid/overprotective/responsible/super-loving mom who wants to protect the heck out of her little babies. Thus, the blog is going Private. I just hate the idea that ANYONE can view it and, to be in honest, when I think about it too hard it really creeps me out. So let me know if you want an invite to keep up with all our Moses Mayhem!

(If you read my blog and we haven't spoken in years, aren't close friends any more, or know each other through a friend of a friend, etc., I PROMISE I won't think you're creepy or weird for wanting an invite--chances are I probably read your blog too!)

Funny or Mean?? You decide!

2012-01-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

Please tell me this does NOT make me a bad mom... I heard Monica messing around in her room during nap time (instead of sleeping, not at ALL uncommon) and then I heard a very meek voice say, "Mama, I need help". So, I gave in and walked up to her door to find this:

Did I immediately jump down and give her back her beloved pass? Of course not! I grabbed the camera because I thought the sight of her fingers stretched to the limit trying to get it was hilarious!

I even moved it closer to her! Not close enough to be able to touch of course...but almost! (Ok, maybe this was a bit on the mean side)

When you're a Mommy, it's the little things that help get you through the day.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T15:27:00.001-08:00

I know the holidays can be hectic/busy/stressful/etc....especially when you're trying to cram 2 Thanksgivings into 1 day. But I LOVE it that way! I love being able to see as much family as possible all in one day! After all, FAMILY is the #1 things I'm thankful for :)

This is now one of my all-time FAVORITE pictures...ever! Uncle Mike with Madi and Uncle Brian with Monica :) LOVE THEM!

Sweet Uncle Mike :)
Watching Toy Story with Great-Uncle Matt :)
I love my family more than words can say. They are everything to me!
Didn't get any pics of the Moses side...we were pretty into our Dominoes game! lol

What a fun family-filled day! Wouldn't have it any other way!

Life is good!

Happy Birthday Pops!

2011-11-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

I love celebrating Pops' birthday every year, it's sort of a benchmark for how big the "babies" have gotten! This year was C.R.A.Z.Y with 4 munchkins reeking havoc everywhere...but it was still fun! Here's to another year Pops, we love you!

Check-ups!

2011-11-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Took the girls to the doctor today...Monica for her two-year and Madilynn for her 4 month. They did great, and BOTH had to get shots! No fun! :( Now Monica is obsessed with listening to our hearts. SO cute! Wish we had a doctor set for her to play with because she is totally into being a doctor now!

Stats for Monca Moo:
Height- 38 1/2 in. (99%)
Weight- 31.2 lb. (89%)
Head- 19 1/2 (91%)
She's always been our big, healthy girl and nothing has changed!

Stats for Madi:
Height- 35 in. (76%)
Weight- 13.11 lb. (41%)
Head- 15 3/4 (35%)
Madi Rose is definitely our petite thing! Last time we went to the doctor they were worried about her head shape and mentioned we might need to get a "doc band" (one of those plastic helmet things) for her. But after doing some preventative stuff for the past 2 months, it's looking much better! YAY! So her head is back to normal...WHEW!

I'm grateful for the good health of my two beautiful girls. We've been lucky to have happy and healthy kids and I know what a true blessing that is. I'm so happy being a mommy to these precious babies!

Halloween

2011-11-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Halloween! I absolutely LOVE that my girls have cousins they are close to that they can grow up with! They're all such great friends and it's so fun to see them together!

Butt Prints In the Sand

2011-10-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
but mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord,"What have we here?
"Those prints are large and round and neat,
but Lord, they are too big for yours or my feet.

My child, He said in somber tone,
For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.

You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you, on your butt.

Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight and one must climb.
When one must rise and one must stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.

~Author Unknown~

Made me smile. And also made me think...

B-Y-U!

2011-10-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

They may not be doing that great this season...not that bad either though...anyway, regardless of their W-L ratio WE LOVE THE COUGARS! Monica LOVES to watch football with us and yells things like, "Get him" "GO GO GO" "TOUCHDOWN!" and my favorite "Get the soccer ball!" lol (Drives Mitch crazy...she's either calling the football a soccer ball or holding it like a baby and singing it to sleep! hahaha!)

Oh and go Devils too, I guess.

Monica Update!

2011-09-07T13:22:00.001-07:00

Getting ready to cheer on Cousin Marky at his football game! Go Coyotes Go!

Potty Training...in a tu tu! Hey, you gotta do it their way right?!

Grocery Shopping at Fry's! That car was SO ridiculously dirty. It went against my better judgement to let her ride in it! I cleaned her up real good after though! (you know that scene in Monsters Inc. where the monster comes back in with a sock stuck to his back?? Picture that.)

Bed Head!

Caught! She is always going through my purses or the diaper bag!!

I asked her what she wanted for lunch and she said Green Beans. What a weirdo!

After bath! She HAS to have the towel wrapped around her now. Funny girl!

Being the baby :)

Reading her books, I LOVE that she is so into books!

Please tell me this sweet little child of mine isn't really going to be 2 soon!! Where did my tiny baby go?!?!

Big Sis/ Lil Sis

2011-09-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

A Beautiful Blessing, a Happy Birthday!

2011-09-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 4, was the day Madilynn Rosalie Moses was blessed at church. What a great day! I'm so thankful for a husband who holds the Priesthood and who lives worthily to exercise that sacred power. Madi's blessing was beautiful! The thing that stuck out to me the most was that she will be a missionary. Maybe not literally, but she was promised that she will be "bold" in declaring the gospel, that she will be a great example to others, and that she will bring many to the truth. She's a special lady, for sure! She looked like a perfect angel in her dress, straight from heaven! She DID start crying right in the middle of the blessing, and believe me this girl can CRY! But it was actually kind of cute. I remember being so afraid at Monica's blessing, worried she might start crying. And then when Madilynn did it, it wasn't a big deal at all! Funny the things first time parents worry about! lol

Monica LOVES her sister!

We got to have our niece Mayli's b-day party at our house this year! Yay for swim parties! Happy Birthday sweet Miss May! We love you SO MUCH! She is such a cutie, with dimples to die for! Can't believe she's already 2...Monica is next! YIKES!

Brave Kadence!

Scaredy-Cat Monica!

Daredevil Mayli!Frosting Faces!!! ( I love how Monica's frosting matches her swim suit, and so does Mayli's) :)

We also got to go to Peter Piper to celebrate our cousin Cameron's 4th birthday! Happy Birthday Cameron! Didn't get any pictures with him though...he was all over the place! VERY excited little guy, that's for sure!

Racing cousin Chloe

Yep, that's my dad...up in the tunnel the kids crawl through! At least we know those things can hold a significant amount of weight! lol --love you Dad! ;)

Lovin' the carousel ride! (Seriously, it went about .5 mph and she rode it about 75 times...)

M-O-T-H-E-R-H-O-O-D

2011-08-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

Somedays I feel like this is my life:

M - Messy
O - Out of control
T - Tiring
H - Hectic
E - Exasperating
R - Rigorous
H - Hard
O - Overwhelming
O - On-the-Go
D - Discouraging

Time for a new perspective!

M- Miraculous
O - Outstanding
T - Thrilling
H - Heavenly
E - Eternal
R - Righteous
H - Hopeful
O - Out-of-this-World
O - Opportunity
D - Divine

I wish I could say that the positive adjectives were easier to think of than the negative ones...truth is, I could have written out at least 10 negative words for each letter. But I'm really going to try to focus on the positive more! 'Motherhood', is it hard? Yes. Do I love it? Yes. Most of the time I feel over-worked and under-slept. But then I look at my two little girls and I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be, or anything else I'd rather be doing.

p.s. Try to think of adjectives starting with the letter O. Not so easy! I even googled it...there aren't many.

Life is good.

July 16, 2011

2011-08-03T16:20:00.001-07:00

A day to remember! First off let me just say, everyone told me how the second time around is so much easier than the first. Holy Moly they were right!!! (Only if you don't include the 9 weeks of preterm labor and 2 weeks of bed rest). I have a hard time documenting how many "hours" I was in labor for this baby though--what's 24hrs/day x 7days/week x 9 weeks?? Anyway, the part that really mattered to me was the delivery and THAT'S what was so much easier this time around. I pushed through a whoppin' 2 contractions (maybe 7 or 8 pushes) and out she came. Compared to the 3 horrific hours I spent pushing with Monica, this was a breeze!! And it has made for a much nicer recovery too!

Once again I'm humbled at the beauty of Heavenly Father's children, and I can't adequately express how grateful I am that He trusts me enough to care for and raise one of His precious daughters. I can only hope that I'll be able to nurture her, teach her, play with her, protect her, sing to her, dance with her, love her....enough! It's always a humbling experience to have a newborn in your home. There is so much responsibility that comes with children. But even more important, there is so much LOVE. We love you Madilynn Rosalie Moses and we are so happy that you have joined our family!

Madilynn Rosalie-born July 16 (3 weeks early!) at 2:04 pm. 7lb. 1oz. 21in. PERFECT!

Totally worth all the pain and suffering...

Monica LOVES being a big sister! She gives Madi kisses all the time and wants to hold her. Sometimes she's a little TOO sweet, if you know what I mean!

Another Daddy's Girl to fight for his attention!

Monica had to help with the carseat...I couldn't remember how to work the dang thing! lol

Monica was a great big sister, watching Madi the whole ride home! :)

Home Sweet Home

Independance Day

2011-07-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

God Bless America, Land that I love! Even during crazy times, this is still the greatest place on earth to live and I'm so grateful for this beautiful Nation! :) (And yay for fireworks being legal now!)

Daddy's Day

2011-06-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

Is there anything in this world better than a Dad? I think NOT! Daddy's are the greatest, most wonderful people on the earth (Mommy's are too of course!). But there is no one who is closer to a little girl's heart than their very own Daddy. And you'd be hard-pressed to find another little girl who loves their Daddy more than Monica loves hers! He's the first thing she asks for when she wakes up in the morning, and when he comes home from work it's like her day truly begins! She wants to do everything he does, go everywhere he goes, eat everything he eats...you get the idea. He's her hero. And I gotta say, she picked a pretty great guy for her hero!

We're lucky to have great Father's in our life! Here's to Pops and Papa, Happy Father's Day! We love you and are so grateful for everything you have done, sacrificed, taught, helped with, shared, given...

Pops and the Family :)

Pops and Meme and the Grandkids

Papa, Monca Moo, me and my brother. Oh and the DBacks Mickey Mouse of course.

This is a picture of a picture, didn't come out too great. But here's Papa with his family! :)
Like I said, Monica wants to be just like her Daddy, and as a result she has developed a deep love of ties just like Daddy! I love these 2 so much!

I LOVE MY HUSBAND! He is the BEST Father to our little Monca Moo and I can't wait to see him with Madi too. He does so much for our family! He works tirelessly, and is always on the go. He has nothing but the best in store for our family. All of his dreams and goals are centered around us being happy and together forever. I couldn't ask for a better provider and leader for our family! LOVE YOU BABE! Happy Father's Day :)

"Peek-Pack"

2011-06-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Monica has always been a purse girl. She LOVES to carry around purses and pretend to be "Mommy". But lately, she's all about the backpack, or as she calls it "peek-pack". She finally got her own thanks to Nana (my mom), and thank goodness too because her diaper bag is just too heavy! I was afraid she was going to develop a hunchback! Or that someone might call CPS on us for making her carry around her own diaper bag! lol

You gotta love the cheesy face!

Ready for church!

Yay! A peek-pack of my very own! :)

BFF's

2011-06-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

It seems like just yesterday these 2 were BABIES! Now they're all grown up! These are some sassy almost 2-year-olds, let me tell you! And they are so much fun to watch play together! We love you Mayli, come play again soon!!!

You never know what they're going to find, everything's a toy!

Notice how they both have a sort of "glazed-over" look about them as they stare off into space? Hmmm...maybe I took too many pictures? NAH!

Oh Nash, where ARE you?!?!

Summer Lovin'!

2011-06-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

All I can say is: Thank goodness we have a POOL!!! Oh baby, is it hot outside or what?!?! I know the pregnancy adds about 30 extra degrees to my internal body heat too, cuz I am seriously burnin' up! I was worried about Monica and the water because she was so skeptical of it at first. I kept thinking, "You have no choice but to love the water dear child, Mommy wants to swim!!!". But her uneasiness lasted about 30 seconds and she was ready to go! She LOVES the pool! We've been having fun and trying to keep as cool as possible!

We've also been to the Splash Pad at Rio Vista park a few times. She wasn't too keen on the water there at first either. But she's a pro now! I've learned she's quite the daredevil, but for some things she has to take her time. Funny girl!

Oh hey Uncle Mitch, mind if we eat your lunch for you??? :)

Life is good.

Kinder Grad

2011-05-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

These pictures are in complete backwards order...oh well. Last night was my wonderful and perfect cousin Chloe's Kindergarten Graduation! What a fun night! I LOVE KINDERGARTEN! Those kiddos are so sweet and cute! They did a great job singing, and reading poems, so proud of them. Especially Chloe, she was the best by far! She is just so grown up, going into 1st grade now!!!
I love my family :)
LOVE YOU CHLOE!!!

We walked to the school and of course Zane and Chloe HAD to push Monica...works for me!

Getting her medal...great job CHLOE!

Doing her reading, she did great! She told me afterwards that she didn't even have to read it because she just knew it! Way to go memorizing your part girl!

With her diploma!

Walking down the aisle. So proud of you Chloe, what a great kid!

Life is good.

Misc.

2011-05-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a bunch of random pics I had on the computer...I love my family!

Lately Monica will be so quiet and I'll go in to check on her only to find her sitting in her room reading. What a good girl! Also, she has sprouted QUITE a personality lately...she HAS to pick her own clothes most of the time (hard to see, but do you notice her shoes? One blue and one pink! Silly girl!)
She LOVES to play the piano...just like Mommy!

This is the cheesy smile I get now when I ask her to smile...what a goof!

Dancing with Daddy in the kitchen! She LOVES her Daddy so much! He is definitely her #1 guy in the world! I love that she is such a Daddy's Girl!

These are my definitely my 2 favorite people in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!

Play Date!

2011-05-13T11:21:00.001-07:00

Monica's cousin Jake Jr. came over to play last Saturday and these kiddos had a blast! They played so well together! I seriously just let them do their thing and they played for hours and hours. Got into a couple tussels...but over all they had so much fun! Yay for cousins!

Dancing to the music together...so sweet!

HUGS!

Love these kiddies!

Surprise!

2011-05-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

My husband is the coolest most wonderful amazing guy EVER! A couple weekends ago he surprised me with a trip up to Flagstaff!! I was SO excited! The weather was perfect and it was just what I needed to get away and enjoy some time just the two of us! I'll consider this our "baby"-moon. I'm one lucky lady!

We did a lot, but unfortunately my camera died halfway through so I didn't get as many pictures as I normally would have. :( For me, when my camera dies...it's like my heart stops! I can't live without my camera!!! We went up to Sunset Crater and got to see all the lava....so crazy to think that 1,000 years ago this stuff was just pouring out everywhere!

What a stud!

Help! Mitch is being swallowed up by LAVA!!! hahahaha...we think we're funny!

25 weeks Pregnant and I finally remembered to take a belly pic! :)

On our way to Lowell Observatory!

Clark Telescope-very cool! And HUGE!

The building where the Clark Telescope is

The telecope (technically it's an astrograph) that discovered Pluto!

This is where my camera died :( So very sad. But we had a blast and I'm so grateful for my sweet and thoughtful husband whisking me away for a weekend! :)

Gettin' Ready for Summer!

2011-05-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

I failed to mention a very important birthday in our family...April 11 was our puppy's first birthday! He drives us crazy, but we love him SOOOO much! Our family wouldn't be complete without him! Happy Birthday Nash :)
The Moses fam is SO ready for summer! Monica loves to help Daddy get the pool ready. I'm looking forward to spending all my days right here! :)

Easter!

2011-05-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Easter was pretty low-key in our house this year. I actually completely forgot to do all the traditional Easter stuff until the night before...oops! Which reminds me, here's a BIG tip for you: Never go to Wal-Mart the night before ANY holiday. Easter is no exception. Trust me on this one.

We did manage to get some candy and fill our eggs for a hunt Easter morning. (We didn't dye eggs this year, which made me sad. But Mitch doesn't like hard boiled eggs and eggs are a major NO-NO for me this pregnancy...so we did the plastic stuff instead and decided to draw chalk eggs on our front porch :)

Here's the Easter Egg Hunt. Monica was super excited when she found her first egg and realized there was CANDY inside!

Eating her breakfast amidst all her spoils of course! :)

My sweet angel in her pretty Easter dress!

The morning excitement was a bit much for her...she fell asleep on the way to Church! So cute! :)

Even though according to worldly traditions we didn't do much for Easter this year...we were sure to focus on the true meaning behind the holiday: The Sacrifice and Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are grateful as a family for the Atonement and the wonderful blessings we receive because of the life and love of our Savior. He is our Savior and yours. He loves us all. I know he lived for us, died for us, and lives again!

18 Months?!?! Not Fair!

2011-04-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

I keep trying to stop her but she WON'T LISTEN to me! She just keeps growing and growing, no matter how much I tell her not to... Oh well. What can a Mommy do?! 18 Month stats: Head- 19 in (92%) Height- 36 1/4 in (>99%...I didn't even know you could be "greater than 99%", wouldn't that be 100%??) Weight- 28lbs (95%) 18 teeth! One for every month of her life I guess! She is a mover and a shaker! She dances and sings constantly! Especially to her favorite, Justin Bieber. At first I did NOT like her new "crush"....but I gotta admit...he's growin' on me! "Baby, Baby, Baby Oh!!!" lol. We are absolutely crazy about this little girl! She brings a level of happiness into our home and family that we never thought possible! She is always happy and smiling, and playing. She's Miss Independant for sure! Love her!

Family :)

2011-04-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

Oh my heavens! I can't even tell you how long it took me to do this post (from uploading pics from camera to computer, computer to blog, rearranging, typing...etc.) Someone PLEASE give me a remedy for a super slow computer!!! Maybe mine is just dying?! Anyway, as the title to this post suggests, we've been spending a lot of time with family lately...and it is such a blessing! How lucky we are to frequently find ourselves surrounded by people we love! These pics are kind of in backward order of when they actually took place, oh well! This past Sunday we got to celebrate 2 wonderful women: Mitch's mom Tammy (Meme) and his sister Amanda. Happy Birthday to you beautiful and wonderful ladies! Here are the Moses Cousins enjoying the party!

Singing "Popcorn Popping" :)

"Once There Was a Snowman!"

Another fun family experience was our annual ride in the Peoria Pioneer Days parade. Every year, the first weekend in April, the city of Peoria does a family bike ride. And the Burris clan is there ready and rearin' to go! Well, this year it didn't go as smoothly as it has in the past for us...and the only picture I got was of Monica in her new helmet. She sure looks cute! :) We still managed to have a good time, even after a rough start.

Here are the kiddos again, the FIRST time sitting at their very own kiddie table! So grown-up!

A few weeks ago we got to watch Cousin Chloe at her field day! What a fun experience! Monica had so much fun watching all the big kids run around, and she wanted to join right in! She sure loves her cousins and wants to do everything they do! She especially enjoyed the otter pop part of the day :)

During Spring Break, my sisters-in-law and I decided to pack the kiddos up and head to the park! It was hot, but the kids didn't mind one bit! They had a blast! Monica has NO FEAR on the playground equipment....which makes Mommy VERY afraid! lol The best part was watching them play "Ring Around the Rosies".

I meant to take a picture of Meme and Manda blowing out the candles, but I took video instead...oops! :)

We love our happy family! Life is good.

It's a...

2011-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

...GIRL!!! AGAIN!!! :) (Ultrasound pictures to come. Everything looks great and "normal" and baby girl is doing perfectly!)

"Baby M" can now officially be known as Madilynn Rosalie Moses. I'm SO excited! I grew up with 2 brothers and no girl cousins until I was 10 years old. I ALWAYS wanted a sister to play with (and maybe fight with). I can't tell you how happy I am to be giving Monica that special gift of a sister. I have several "sisters at heart" and now 2 wonderful sisters-in-law, so I know a little bit about how special a sister/sister relationship can be. I'm grateful to have another little girl to dress up with bows and dresses and LOTS of PINK! Poor Mitch...he's waaaaaay outnumbered now! But I know he loves his girls more than anything in the world and he is the most amazing father to our precious Monca Moo.

About the name, Madilynn Rosalie, it is quite special! First of all I just love the name Madilynn. Second, we decided to spell it like that because Lynn is Mitch's mom's middle name. Third, her middle name, Rosalie, is my mom's middle name. So our little Madi gets to have a special piece of both of her grandmas forever and ever!

Guess it's time to bust out all of Monica's hand-me-downs! The nice thing is, most of her stuff she either only wore once or not even at all! So it will seem brand new for Madilynn! :)

Life is good. And girly. :)

FINALLY!

2011-03-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

The day has finally come...actually tomorrow is when it will really be here but whatever...we're finally finding out if our Baby M is a boy or a girl!!!! I CANNOT WAIT! I've been trying really hard to think about ANYTHING else besides this day and how far away it's seemed. But it's here and now it's ALL I can think about!! So I'm curious....what do you all think? Boy? Or Girl?

The Big 2-5

2011-03-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to celebrate a very important person, in fact THE MOST important and special person to me in this whole WIDE world: My husband, Mitch :)

Sappy Sidenote Moment: I am a very lucky woman to have this man as my companion for eternity. Words cannot express my gratitude, love, and appreciation for him. Everything in my life is good because of him. I have never been as happy at any other time in my life than I am right now (and have been since the day I met him). He is the greatest. I love you Babe.

So yeah...back to the birthday celebrations!!! Mitchell Allen Moses had a pretty awesome birthday week if I do say so myself! The festivities included: A Suns Game, Indian Fry Bread (his favorite dinner made by yours truly), FREE doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, FREE tacos from Jack-n-the-Box (thanks to the Suns scoring more than 99 points at the game), 2 Church basketball games, Dinner at Oregano's, Dominoes game night, Shopping Spree at Kohl's AND Barnes and Noble (I wasn't jealous at all...), Lunch at Culver's, Chocolate Fondue, and Dinner with all the Moses Family. I hope I'm not forgetting anything, because seriously we did SO MUCH! And he deserved every bit of it, and more! I wish I could give him the world, because that's what he means to me! :)

Special BIG TIME THANK YOU to my Aunt and Uncle for giving us their Suns tickets!!! We had a blast! Mitch is a HUGE Suns fan, and a Basketball fanatic in general so it was the perfect Birthday Surprise when I came home with these amazing tickets! We've never sat so close before!
Dan the Man

Blurry :( This is my fave player, Dudley, going for 3. He shoots....He SCORES! Duh it's Dudley, of course he made it!

Nash doing his thing!

Pre-game

Wish I had pictures of the rest of our fun...I have been slacking with the picture taking lately! :(

Happy Birthday Babe, bring on the next 25!

2011-02-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hello Blog Family! It's been a while! I've kinda been feeling a little "under par" lately. :) By now most of you know the big news...Baby #2 is on the way!!! That's right, we will soon be a "real" family (according to my brother-in-law you're not a real family until you have 2 kids). We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, so we've been calling he/she "Baby M" since both of our names for a boy or a girl start with an M. Very clever I know. We are unbelievably excited and also overwhelmed. The idea of having 2 kids scares me WAY MORE than having 1. We've had it so good around here. Monica is such an EASY CHILD and has been since birth. Who knows what will happen when #2 arrives...but we can't wait for what we're sure will be a wonderful adventure! Here are the sonogram pics we've gotten so far:

9 Weeks Cookin' 13 Weeks

What else is new?

My cousin Zane had his 5th birthday party last weekend. It was Dino-riffic!!! We had a blast! Uncle Jim and Aunt Darcie throw the best kid parties! (Yes I'm still a kid). We got to play in a bouncey house, race through an obstacle course, smash a pinata, eat cake/candy...oh man, it was FUN!

So Mitch and I, and my cousins Mark and Justin had a little competition. First Mitch and I raced each other through the obstacle course, and Mark and Justin raced each other. Then the losers/winners of those races raced each other. I'm extremely competitive, I hate to lose, I'm in pretty good shape...but I'm also 4 months pregnant. I was racing against teenagers and my track-star husband! Let's just say I didn't come in 1st place...or 2nd........or 3rd. I'll just leave it at that.

So friendly before the race (Justin on the left, Marky on the right)

View of the bounce house and obstacle course. This pic does not do the obstacle course justice! It was really hard!!! But so fun!

More cake please??!!

Pinata time!

The Birthday boy, nice hit Zaney Boy!

Having Fun in the bounce house with Daddy!

Showing off her fun cup, and her "Best Sister Ever" shirt. We decided a fun way to tell everyone our news would be to put this shirt on Monica and see who noticed first. Well, my dear Mother (whom I know will be reading this) totally RUINED the surprise!!! She had advance warning and so when she got to the party she pointed out Monica's shirt to my grandparents. Thanks Mom!! lol Anyway, it was still fun! We did the same thing the next day with Mitch's family and they got a kick out of it too! It was a fun idea!

Monica has had a full head of hair pretty much since she came out... But who would've thought that at 15 months I'd be able to get her hair into a pony tail!

And pig tails!

What else???

--I had a birthday a couple months ago. the big 2-6. Wow. I'm closer to 30 than 20 and really feeling it! I was NOT looking forward to 26 at all. But surprisingly, it's been good so far!

--We took a trip to Columbus, Ohio for a Leadership Development Conference with an organization we're part of called TEAM. It was AWESOME! We learned a lot about how to be successful and make improvements in all aspects of life including Faith, Family, Friends, Fun, Finances, Following, Fitness, and Freedom (The 8 F's). It was also COLD! I haven't seen snow in years...kinda fun...mostly freezing.

--Valentine's Day was epic this year! We decided that since Monica and I were BOTH Daddy's Valentines this year, he should take us BOTH to dinner. Bad idea. Monica has ALWAYS been an angel in restaurants! Well, not this day! She threw her first ever bad tantrum and we had to cut out early dragging out our screaming child while onlookers watched in pity. That was a first. Happy Valentine's Day right!?

I guess that about all that's been going on with the Moses Family! At least the stuff I can think of right now! Hope you enjoyed the update! I'll try not to take so long between posts!

Life is good.

My "2 cents" on V-Day

2011-02-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

So I know this is a day late...but I have something to say! I'm so tired of all the "nay"-sayers and their negative remarks about Valentine's Day. They claim it's a made-up, commercial, materialistic holiday that forces you to tell your significant other you love them. Well they're wrong. And if you share this opinion, I'm sorry you're wrong! Hopefully after you've read this you'll understand why. (and p.s. you could pretty much say that every holiday is commercial and materialistic nowadays. That just means you've lost the true meaning and spirit of the day)

Let's start with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one day on the calendar set aside to give thanks for all that we've been given. Does that mean that on every other day we neglect to express gratitude and just take for granted everything we have? Of course not. How about Christmas? Again, this is one day on the calendar set aside to praise the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Does this mean that on every other day we don't celebrate Him and show our gratitude for his endless and unconditional love? Of course not. Another example: Birthdays. A birthday is one day out of the year set aside to celebrate one special person and tell them how great they are and that we're happy they were born! Does this mean that every other day of the year we wish they'd never been born? Of course not! The same is true for Valentine's Day. It's one day on a calendar set aside to give us the opportunity to tell the people that are important to us, just how much we love them. It's not meant to force us to show love. It's not just about chocolate and teddy bears and jewelry. It's about L.O.V.E. Giving and receiving. Just as Easter doesn't force us to be grateful for the Atoning Sacrifice of our Savior, and just as The 4th of July doesn't force us to be proud to be an American, Valentine's Day isn't forcing us to do anything we don't already do: love others. So don't get down on Valentine's for "forcing" you to tell someone you love them. It's a wonderful day that is given to us to celebrate love. That's a GOOD THING! After all, Jesus Himself declared that Love was the greatest commandment of all (Matthew 22:36-38)

With Love,
Jenny

Christmas Liquidation!

2011-01-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

All pictures must GO! Seriously, this is probably the MOST jam-packed post I've ever done...EVER! I really REALLY TRIED to narrow down the pictures and put up as little as possible, but when you're a camera-fanatic like me it's hard! I took a lot of pictures over Christmas weekend (that's putting it mildly!). So here ya go. If you end up with carpal tunnel, or some kind of strained elbow, etc., from all the scrolling I apologize in advance. And no, I will not pay your medical bills.

Christmas Eve! Our family tradition of going Ice Skating was back on this year (Monica was only 3 months old last year and I didn't want to take her on the ice...)

Watching Daddy skate by!

On the way to Grandma and Meme's house for Christmas Eve! She spotted the Christmas cookies and had to have one (or several...) on the way!

Playing with the cousins!

They had quite a game going...it was entertaining but lasted less than a minute :(

Christmas Pictionary!

This is all I need for Christmas...and any other day!

The babies LOVE their big cousin Matthew!

Opening Presents!

Cutie-Pie babies in their new PJ's!

'Tis the season to give AND receive...KISSES!

Love this, booty pic!

Getting ready for Christmas morning, here's Santa's helper! :)

Our presents are safely under the tree. (notice how we have to wedge them in between the couches? We DO have a dog AND a toddler ya know!)

Monica with all her loot! (and feeding her doll the sucker she got from Santa, how sweet!)

Nash with his new toy...that was completely torn apart and destroyed less than 24 hours later!

Loving the new baby doll!

Opening presents at Nana and Papa's on Christmas morning!

I got a new sewing machine!!! :)

Mitch got a Max Hall Cardinals shirt! (who cares if he's on the injured reserve?!) Mitch also walked away with PS2 game, Robin Hood on dvd, and a mini basketball hoop complete with fiberglass backboard and breakaway rim! Lucky guy!

Monica and Daddy playing with one of her new toys!

Christmas Day isn't complete without some backyard football! (and other fun activities!)

Zane wanted to play with the big boys so bad!

And he finally got his chance! Even scored a touchdown! :) My cousins! (Mitch is in the Army and Joey is in the Air Force. So proud of them!)

Of course Christmas isn't really Christmas without a dance party!!! Oh my gosh, this was the HIGHLIGHT of the whole weekend! We DANCED our hearts out for I don't even know how long! Had a conga line and everything! PURE FUN!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! Mostly I love the opportunity to spend quality time with family! I LOVE MY FAMILY! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! WE're very lucky to have so much family close by and that we get to see them often. Because really...that's what it's all about!

Life is good. Here's to 2011!

Now or Never!

2010-12-22T16:59:00.001-08:00

I know if I don't get this post up now, it doesn't stand a chance once all the Christmas Extravaganzas roll in! So here's a December post...up to the 22nd :)

Last month we celebrated Pops' b-day, this month it's Papa's b-day! Happy 55 Dad!

Different party...same cake mooch!

Giving Nana kisses!

Some of you will remember the post when my brother came home from his mission? Well, if you do you also remember the beyond adorable pictures of Monica latching onto Brian's arm...then he abandoned her almost immediately to go up to BYU-Idaho! But this Sunday they had a reunion, and it was oh so sweet! Monica loves her Uncle Brian!

Kisses!

This past Monday we went to see the Christmas lights at the Mesa Arizona LDS Temple. I don't know what we were thinking, going the Monday before Christmas?!?! It was SO PACKED! Seriously so many people! But it was still beautiful, and Monica liked seeing all the lights!

Merry (almost) Christmas!!!

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

Ribbon Dancers!

2010-12-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

On Thanksigiving Meme (Mitch's Mom) had these fun twirly ribbons for the kids to play with and they loved them!!! You can tell from the video at the end that Mitch really loved them too!) :)

2010-12-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

Shortly after (or maybe before...) Monica's 1st birthday we got updated family pics!! Thanks to our wonderful Photographer Emily Buck (memorieslastlonger.blogspot.com) for taking the pictures for us! We even took our insane dog with us (what were we thinking!?).

So Thankful

2010-11-30T09:18:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is a great time to think about all the many blessings we are given. I've made a goal to keep the "spirit of Thanksgiving" all year round, and I think I've done a pretty good job. I'm very grateful for everything I have. I'm thankful for my family, and I sure have a lot of 'em! My family is the most important thing in my life and I would be NOTHING without them. I'm thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for my Savior who died for me so that I might be perfected in him and live with him again someday. I'm thankful for a warm bed to sleep in at night, food on the table, and clothes on my back. I'm thankful for knowledge, for growth, for inspiration. I'm thankful for my so many things. I know that I am one of the lucky ones!

Our First Thanksgiving!

Our Second Thanksgiving!
Our Third Thanksgiving!

So, I just noticed that I wore the same shirt to Thanksgiving 2 years in a row...how embarrasing! :)

Life is good.

Happy B-Day Pops!

2010-11-30T08:33:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is spending a bunch of time with family. Every year we get to kick off the Holidays with Pops' birthday! We love you SO MUCH Pops!

Monca the Mooch took cake from anyone who had a plate and was willing to share

(or even unwilling...)

Pops, Meme, and the Babies! Last year they sat so still and took a great picture. This year...not so much! But they sure are cute! :)

I got SUCH GREAT pics of all the kiddos!!!

Mayli

Kadence

Jake

All the kiddos except my own of course. That stinker!
Monica

Watching Pops open his presents

One year older, and wiser too! Happy Birthday Pops!

An answered prayer?

2010-11-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

An act of fate? A dream come true? Call it what you will...but yesterday, a miracle happened. Just hours, that's right HOURS after I posted how Monica is really into chairs now and she's asking Santa for one for Christmas, her amazing cousins Chloe and Zane bestow upon her the best hand-me-down chair (or any chair for that matter) a kid could ask for! Complete with a desk lamp, book, and clock. This chair is CRAZY SWEET! It even plays music every time you sit down. It's got lights, sounds, educational pictures. Like I said, CRAZY SWEET! And seriously how perfect that they would have NO IDEA Monica's been dying to have her very own chair, and then give her one the exact day I mentioned it on the blog. Awesome. Can you tell how excited she is?! :)

Kickin' back in her super sweet chair yo!

Also, I couldn't resist putting up these precious pictures. Monica went through Daddy's closet and found his cowboy hat. Looks good on her!
She LOVES to play in the pantry, sometimes it drives me completely crazy, but today it was hilarious! She slipped and fell bum first into the corner of the pantry and couldn't get out. I was rolling laughing!

Then when I helped her out (and seeing how great a reaction she got from Mommy the first time) she decided to try it again. What a goof!

Life is good.

Play Date

2010-11-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

Monica and I went to the BEST playdate ever last week!!! We got to visit my cousin Becky and her daughter Ella. I was so happy to see Becky and get to chat with her. It was also fun to see their GORGEOUS new house! Ella and Monica had a blast, they were so cute playing together!

We need to work on Monica's posture :)

I don't know why, but Monica is totally into chairs now. She's asking for some from Santa.

Ella is so adorable!!! She is so great at posing for pictures, she even says CHEESE! Monica...not so much. I love Ella's curls!

Diaper Fun!

2010-11-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

Monica now LOVES to put her diapers on her baby doll. It makes her seem so grown-up! It's really cute to watch, but she ends up getting frustrated because she can't really do it and usually ends up throwing the diaper and the baby across the room. We need to work on her anger management...

A Family Tradition

2010-11-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

Every year the Phoenix Zoo does a "Walk on the Wildside", a walk to benefit MS research and the families who live with this disease. Most of you know that Mitch's dad has MS. This is the third year we've been able to participate in this event as "Pop's Unforgettable Posse". It's really a lot of fun and we enjoy spending the time together, representing Pops, and of course seeing the fun sights at the zoo! We even got to see the new koalas, which are super cute! We love you Pops and wish you could have been able to come with us. But we carried you around on our shirts and in our hearts!! :)

All the kids did such a great job of posing on this monkey dude...

Kadence and Jake

Mayli

Well not all of them

Monca, sort of

Playing in the awesome treehouse!

Carousel!!!

Last year Monica was only a couple weeks old when we went to the Walk and she slept nearly the entire time! This year she was so much fun! She LOVED seeing all the animals and walking around. But she did konk our towards the end...we got up at 5:30 after all!

The group! Can't wait til next year! :)

The 3 Days of Halloween!

2010-11-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not because of the yucky scary stuff....I'm not a big fan of that. But I DO love seeing all the little kiddies dressing up in costumes, cute decorations, pumpkins, and of course CANDY! This year we got to celebrate Halloween 3 days in a row, can't beat that!

On the First Dday of Halloween: We went to my mom and dad's trunk-or-treat with their ward. SO FUN!

Monica wouldn't wear her witch hat so we tried to put it on Nash.

(turns out he didn't want to wear it either)

Our Pretty Little Witch!
With Nana and Papa

Cupcake Walk
Enjoying her winnings :)

On the Second day of Halloween: We went to OUR ward's trunk-or-treat!

An angel, a devil, and a witch. I'm obviously the only innocent creature in our household. ;)

Good vs. Evil

J/K ;)Getting her face painted. Didn't go very well. We had to settle for getting the back of her hand painted instead.

Our Trunk!

Going around to all the cars!

She started eating her candy early. The girl loves suckers!

On the Third day of Halloween: We went to Mitch's grandma's house for the annual Carrot Chowder celebration! It is soooo yummy!

I can't believe all these babies are so big now! Just one year ago they were a bunch of baby blobs, look at them now!

Monica's 1st candy bar!

Mmmmmm.....Kit Kat!

Life is good.

Septober

2010-10-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

WHEW! I can't tell you how great it feels to actually be up to date on the blog! I'm pretty sure I haven't missed anything...I hope. Here's a jam-packed post with tons of pictures to show what kind of Moses Mayhem we've been up to in September/October! [I do still have one more post...Updated Family Pictures. I'm still waiting to get a few back from our amazing photographer. And when I do, you will all be the first to know ;)]

Monica's new favorite hiding place (the entertainment unit)

Just chillin' on the stairs. Monica and Nash's fave hang-out
The obligatory Messy-Spaghetti-Face picture

First time riding forward-facing! (and loving every minute of it!)

Learning how to brush those teefies!

Showing off the pearly whites

HUGE Hailstorm!

Looked like snow...it was AWESOME

Being silly with cousins Chloe and Zane

Nash is getting SO BIG!

Dancing with Daddy at the Car Wash

First time sitting in a Booster Seat (love the perfect posture)

An important new skill: picking your nose

Posing with Zaney at Chloe's 6th B-day Luau!

Helping Daddy with his makeup :)

Stealing one of Daddy's drinks (it's so funny how they want to do everything we do!)

Poor Nash. Maybe if you weren't so stinkin' hyper, we could take you places with us!

A very SPECIAL day! Mitch's Dad (Pops) was able to be sealed to his parents. We are so grateful for the temple and for the opportunity we have to be an eternal family.

Families Can Be Together Forever.

(Mitch, Jen (me), Tammy, Colin, Amanda, Ginny, and Pops)

Taking pics around the Temple

Hanging out with Daddy-O!

I'm not sure if you can tell by the photos...but we have a pretty great life! Our motto is Have Fun: Constantly! Actually, I just made that up. But it's true! We have fun all the time! Life's better that way :)

Life. Is. Good.

Fiesta!!!

2010-10-30T13:31:00.001-07:00

Time for Monica's B-Day Party post!!! We had a SUPER FUN FIESTA!!! Special thanks to my Uncle Jim, Aunt Darcie, and cousing Chloe and Zane, for letting us have Monica's party at their house. They are amazing people and we are so grateful for them! There's a bunch of pics so I'll keep this short and let you get to scrolling...

Opening Presents!

Playing on the Water Slide

Taking Monica down :) (She really did love it)

The Bounce House

A vacation on steroids!

2010-10-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September, my wonderful parents took us on an amazing vacation!!! We took my "little" brother Brian up to school in BYU-Idaho and had quite an adventure along the way. Our stops included:
Kingman
Vegas (2x)
Payson, Ut
Provo, Ut
Salt Lake City, Ut
Pocatello, Id
Idaho Falls, Id
Rexburg, Id
Yellowstone National Park

We were gone for a week and 2 days. It was GLORIOUS! We had such a blast. Brian just got back from serving a 2-year mission for our church so it was GREAT to have some time with him before he left for college. What a great kid, we love him! This was one of the BEST vacations we've ever been on and we're SUPER grateful to Nana and Papa for everything. Click on the picture below for a link to the photos of our trip. There were just too many to upload onto blogger and it takes forever...I figured this was much easier! (leave a comment if you can't see them) I'm a picture taking FANATIC so don't worry, I didn't put ALL the pictures on or else you'd be looking at pictures for days. :) They're kind of in jumbled order too...sorry.

Our #1 Girl!

2010-10-07T21:38:00.001-07:00

Well...turns out everyone was right: Our teeny-tiny, squirmy-wormy, wrinkly-pink bundle of joy is no longer a baby. She is now a toddler who is always on the move!!! But one thing has remained the same, she is still a bundle of joy--just a more energetic one! Brace yourself for the typical cliche line all mothers say, "I can't believe how fast this year has flown by!". Seriously. Each one of the pictures below feels like it just happened...

In The Belly

Happy Birthday Monica!1 Month Old (First Bath!)

2 Months Old (Halloween)

3 Months Old (On Her Blessing Day)

4 Months Old (Always Smiling!)

5 Months Old (Her first Baseball Game)

6 Months Old (Posing for Mama)

7 Months Old (Sitting on her own)

8 Months Old (Standing up in her crib!!!)

9 Months Old (Our Little Fish!)

10 Months Old (The Partners in Crime)

11 Months Old (Say Goodbye to that Pacifier!!!)

!!! 1 Year Old !!!

I'm not crazy right...she seriously went from baby to big girl over night!!! The VERY DAY after her 1st birthday she started walking everywhere on her own, where previously you HAD to hold her hand (she was totally holding out on us). She also is completely off of the bottle (piece of cake weening her off), only gets a pacifier for naps and nighttime, eats EVERYTHING we eat (including her new favorite--pizza!), and talks NONSTOP! Of course at this point it's just babbles but seriously, non stop! Her sign vocabulary is HUGE! I am amazed everyday at the things she signs to me. The other day she was eating breakfast and she signed "all done, toys". Then when I let out of her chair she signed "no" and held out her hand because she wanted me to come with her. I love her so much.

1 Year Stats:

Height: 31 inches (90%)

Weight: 24 lbs (89%)

5 Teeth

Special Memories of Month 12:

Monica's first BYU Football game. Falling asleep on the Las Vegas Strip. Eating her birthday cake. Learning to walk. Kisses and Squishes. And of course her laugh. She is ALWAYS laughing. And she totally throws her head back and laughs SO HARD. Cracks us up!!!

We had the most AMAZING birthday FIESTA for her! (pics to come very soon). It was so much fun! We also went on an AWESOME vacation last month and I'll definitely be posting pictures of that soon too. I'm a little behind in my blogging...oops.

I think it might be against the law for someone to be as completely happy as I am. I have an amazing husband who loves me so much more than I could ever comprehend and a beautiful daughter who thinks I'm the greatest thing on this earth. Life is good. Life is wonderful. Life is joyful, exciting, fun, challenging, scary, and amazing. I know I use the word amazing a lot, but really...what else can I say! Life is amazing!

11

2010-08-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

That's right, 11 Months! I can't believe we're so close to 1 year already! Our baby Monca is becoming a little girl! But she's still a baby to me! She's learning and growing so much every single day. Gaining new skills, language, and of course a personality! She is starting to throw tantrums a little...which at this stage is more cute than annoying. Though I'm sure in years to come the cuteness will wear off! The thing I love the most about her right now is how affectionate she has become! She gives REAL kisses now, closed mouth (we're glad she finally kicked the habit of french kissing relatives...and strangers) and she even makes a "mmmmWAH" sound when she kisses. So cute. She gives hugs, or "squishes" as we call them, now too. She'll wrap her arms around your neck and squeeze real tight, then pat your back. It's the cutest thing. She's still a very busy girl, with lots to do during the day. But she's making more time in her schedule for snuggling, which makes Mommy very happy! Reminds me of my little newborn...who is becoming a toddler! We love her so much!

Life is good.

He's Home!!!

2010-08-22T13:12:00.001-07:00

My brother, Brian, FINALLY returned home from his mission! Oh my goodness did I miss him! I followed him around like paparazzi pretty much all night. But hey, he'll thank me someday when he has all these wonderful pictures to look at and remember this day! He got hom at around 5:20 pm Wednesday and We are so happy to have him back! He was a great missionary. He served the Lord well and honorably. We're so proud of him and the great man that he has become! Enjoy the pics (no I didn't upload all of them...I went a little snap-happy so to save you from hours of scrolling I just put up the highlights).

My dad IMpatiently waiting...

Is he here yet???

His plane!!! (this is right about when I started screaming and running for the gate!)

My brother is home!!!!!!!!!

Happy Family! (minus my brother Mike who couldn't get off work) I love how Monica is just staring at him like, "Who is this dude?".

My Mom was almost as excited as me to have him back...j/k (Notice the nice shirts my mom and dad are sporting? Brian made those for them. No he did NOT make one for me. Whatev)

I decorated the car for him :)

For those of you who know my family well, you know we LOVE the restaurant Abuelo's. So of course this is where Brian wanted to go on his first night back. While we were enjoying the food, Monica was enjoying having her Uncle Brian close by! Seriously, this girl LOVES her Uncle Brian. She kept cuddling next to him and patting him on the shoulder. It was the sweetest thing! She was making sure NOBODY took him away from her!

We are so happy to have you home Brian!!!

Life is good.

Peek-A-Boo, pouty face, and water from the sky!

2010-08-12T12:55:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back we had some GREAT rain on the west side...finally! So much for monsoon season this year, we've barely had anything. Anyway, it was Monica's first experience in the rain. This baby girl LOVES water (whether it's in the bathtub, the pool, a puddle, from the faucet, the dog bowl...she loves to get in it!). So I knew she was going to love rain, and I was right! I took a video of her too, in addition to all the pictures, and she was sticking her hand out in the rain and laughing so hard, kicking her chubby little legs! So fun!

This is Monica's new "pouty face". If you tell her, "Monica make your face" this is what she'll do. I crack up EVERY time!

She is such a happy baby. Always smiling, laughing, and playing. Makes you remember that life is great and we should enjoy every minute!

Monica has always loved peek-a-boo. She'll hide under a blanket and then pull it down over her face and laugh, or she'll hide around a corner and then pop out real fast. Well, a few weeks ago she started putting her hands in front of her face and playing peek-a-boo...well sort of. You'll see what I mean :)

Everytime I look at her I still can't believe how blessed I am to have such a beautiful, healthy, happy baby girl. Life is good.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

2010-08-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

I am grateful to be a Mother. I still find it hard to believe that Heavenly Father trusts and believes in me enough to put one of His precious spirits in my care. I love my daughter and have never been happier to be alive. Being a Mommy is the best, I feel so blessed. (Thanks for the link Renae)

Side note: Do you ever feel like nobody even reads your blog?? I posted like a zillion updates last week and only got one comment (thanks Julia!)...come on people...are you out there?! Is anyone listening?!?!

MAJOR UPDATE!

2010-07-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

We haven't had internet at our house for almost 2 months! YIKES! I feel completely cut off from the world! I finally had some time at my parents' to update our blog...a lot. So scroll down and see what all we've been up to in the Moses Family!!! (there are so many new posts that they don't even all fit on this main page...so click on "older posts" at the bottom to see the rest. I think there's 9!)

Lifei s GREAT!

Busy Busy!

2010-07-29T19:39:00.001-07:00

If you wanna play with Monica you'll have to make an appointment...this girl's always on the phone! :)

Freezing Time?

2010-07-29T19:09:00.001-07:00

So if I don't blog for 2 months does that mean my baby is still 8 months old??? Dang, well a Mom can hope can't she?! I can hardly believe my newborn baby is already 10 months old. Since I missed blogging her 9 Month update, here's a whole jumble of pictures from the last 2 months of our sweet girl's life. So enjoy getting a glimpse of what our life has been like :) (It's amazing what can happen when you turn your back for a second!)

Whatcha lookin' at!?

Peek-a-BOO!

We just love this girl SO MUCH! She brings such a great atmosphere to our home because she's always happy, laughing, and smiling! She reminds us that life is good and we should enjoy every minute! We are lucky to have her :)

Chompers

2010-07-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yep that's right! On July 3, Monica's first toof poked through! Finally! A few days later #2 joined in the fun. Now we have ourselves a biter. Seriously...watch out...she shows no mercy!

This isn't a tooth picture, but it's one of my FAVORITE faces that Monica makes. What a silly girl!
Can you see 'em???

The happiest girl in the world, right here!

BFF's

2010-07-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

Monica's cousin Mayli came over to play a few weeks ago. These girls are so much fun! They are starting to learn how to actually play and laugh and have fun together. It's so amazing watching these little ones grow!Drinking there bottles together! So sweet! Until...

"Hmmm," thinks Monica, "She has a bottle too. That's interesting."

"Maybe I should try and steal it..."

"Monica, NO!" lol

These little girlies are too cute! :)

Partners in Crime

2010-07-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Monca-Moo and The Nash-ter are as tight as two friends can be! And they keep me on my toes! They are everywhere!!! And they LOVE to cause all kinds of trouble! I love these two mischief-makers!

"I'm bustin' ya outta here buddy! Let's roll!"

Loves these two!

Monica's 1st Hair Cut!

2010-07-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

My mom and I went to get our hair done a few weeks ago and while we there Monica got a turn in the chair too! She was so good! She sat so still and was such a big girl! Our hairdresser, Donna, was SO sweet...she showed her the scissors and the razor so she wouldn't be scared. Good girl Monica! :)

4th of July

2010-07-29T15:56:00.001-07:00

God bless America, Land that I love. Stand beside Her and guide her, through the night with the Light from above.

We are very grateful to live in this country. Grateful for those who have served and those who are currently serving in every branch of the armed forces. Grateful for our forefathers and their sacrifices, insight, and courage. Grateful for our freedoms. Grateful for a voice and the right to stand up for what we believe in. Grateful for food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a safe place to come home to. Grateful for life.

I love Monica's expression in all these pictures as she's watching the fireworks! So sweet!

Nicki and Dustin Visit!

2010-07-29T15:48:00.001-07:00

One of my very best friends and her new husband came to Phoenix for a family reunion/work conference and we got to see them while they were here!!! Let me first say that Nicole Marie Shepherd Hinton is one of the greatest, most wonderful people I know! I'm so lucky to have her as a friend...and that she has put up with me this long. I love her, I appreciate all she has done for me, and I value her friendship very much! I'm SO excited that she has found Dustin! They are so happy together, and you can see how much they love each other in everything they do! We had them over for pizza and swimming one night (no pictures) and we went shopping at the Outlet Malls (few pictures). I wish I had taken more pictures, and that we could have spent more time together. They are a blast to be around!

Nash's 1st Spa Trip...

2010-07-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it wasn't exactly like a trip to the spa....but close enough! Since we documented Monica's first bath, it only seemed right to document Nash's too! He is so small in all these pictures! I can't believe how big our puppy already is!

It was obviously a very tiring experience for Daddy and Puppy! :)

"I Wanna Soak Up The Sun..."

2010-06-06T14:24:00.001-07:00

"Gonna tell everyone to lighten up" (One of my fave Sheryl Crow songs). So I've been a busy blogger lately, as you can see by scrolling down! There are a few new posts, so don't forget to check them all out!

We've been doing A LOT of swimming lately! We have the greatest pool in our backyard, we LOVE it! We had Mitch's family over a few times to swim and hang out and we've been doing some swimming on our own. We are definitely a water-loving family!

Kadence (I love this picture. She's realizing that the ground is VERY hot!)

Standing on a towl is much better!

Cutie Girlies having a blast!

Kadence just relaxing...so cute!

All the cousins!

Meme and her girls!

Jakey and Monca

Soakin' up the sun! (with lots of SPF 50 on them, don't worry!)

New Swimsuits :)

The girls!

Love this girl!

Ok, so this is us trying to jump off the diving board with the basketball between our knees, then kicking the basketball up into our hands and shooting it into the basketball hoop across the pool. No one actually succeded, but it was fun to try! (I just realized you can see my feet at the bottom of almost all these pictures...lol)

MitchMe

Jake
Cassidy

Ginny

I am SO excited for a summer full of swimming! Bring it on! :)

Life is good.

F.H.E.

2010-06-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

We had a big FHE (Family Home Evening) night with Mitch's family last Monday. We were all together (including his Uncle and Cousins from Utah) for Grandpa Woodward's funeral, so we decided to get together as a group. Mitch taught a great lesson about recognizing the Spirit in our lives and what we need to be doing so that we are living worthily of that communication with our Heavenly Father. For the activity we played a special edition of "Name That Tune" using all of Grandpa Woodward's Favorite Primary songs and Hymns. I wish I had taken pictures but since I was playing the piano it was kinda hard. We had root beer floats and s'mores afterwards. SO Yummy! Then we decided to play a few rounds of "Minute to Win It" (a tv show where contestants have 1 mintues to complete a ridiculously outrageous and hilarious task). Unfortunately, I did NOT get a picture of our cousin Cassidy doing "junk in the trunk", where you tape an empty box of tissues to your bum, fill it with ping-pong balls, and then shake your booty until they all fall out. She did awesome though, I really wish I had a pic! I DID however get pictures of all of us trying to do the cup game where you have to stack and take down 36 plastic cups in one minute. Mitch was the champion doing it in only 35 seconds! I just realized that's like 1 second per cup...WOW.

Mitch A.K.A The Champ

Colin

Ginny

Even Grandma did it!! And with seconds to spare!

Matthew however....

Did not

Roddy

Page

Here's another game we played. Can't remember the name...KaBroom? Maybe. Anyway, the point is to place a plate with 3 marshmallows on it on the edge of a table, then drop a broom onto it and catch the cups as they fly into the air. Fun to watch everyone trying!

The only bummer about being the one taking all the pictures is that I'm not IN any of the pictures. But let it be known that I did do the cup challenge. AND I even held the record (I don't remember how many second I did it in though...darn) until Mitch beat my score. Oh well, at least we kept it in the family! :)

8 Months!

2010-06-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, my little Monca Moo is now 8 months old. Actually she was 8 months old like 2 weeks ago...but we've been a little too busy for blogging until now! I can't believe it. 8 Months would normally seem like a LONG time, under normal circumstances, to a normal person. But watching your baby grow is not a normal circumstance, and I am far from a normal person. So what I'm saying is...time has flown by so fast and it seems like such a SHORT time since Monica joined our family here on earth. She is amazing. She's chubby (healthy), playful, loud, and HAPPY all the time! She has always been a great baby, and not much has changed! She is crawling all over the place (army crawling still, no "hands and knees" crawling yet) and getting into EVERYTHING! She is literally everywhere! And she wants to be wherever the party is. So if you set her down and leave the room for a SPLIT SECOND, she will immediately flop down onto her belly and follow you wherever you're going! Most of the time she'll be yelling for you too, just in case you didn't notice her on your heels. I love her. She is so much fun. She claps her hands, and waves bye-bye (or hi-hi), gives kisses, sings, babbles... I mean seriously, she's a ton of fun! And to celebrate her 8 Month birthday, on that EXACT DAY she pulled herself up to a standing position for the first time! What a girl! And now she can pull herself up to standing in her crib as well (pics of both momentous first time experiences are below). She's starting to become best buddies with our puppy Nash too. She wasn't too sure of him at first, but now she loves to crawl over to his kennel and stick her fingers through the bars so he can lick her. Or she loves to stick her fingers straight into his mouth (which isn't the best idea since he's kind of a biter right now [puppies teethe too ya know!]) Ok, I'll stop going on and on about my wonderful child because I know why you all came here........PICTURES!

First time swimming! She LOVES LOVES LOVES the pool! Which is awesome, because we have the greatest pool ever in our very own backyard! Needless to say, we've been swimming a LOT! Her first experience was a little rough though....she kinda fell in...but we snagged her up real quick don't worry! She was pretty hesitant for about half an hour afterwards, but she got over it! And now she doesn't even like to be held in the pool, she wants to swim on her own! I keep telling her she doesn't know how to swim yet, but maybe she does...I haven't asked her!

Her new "face". Funny girl!

Baby girl standing in her crib! I had laid her down for a nap when I heard her talking and playing. So I went in to check on her and this is what I found! I laugh/cried. I couldn't believe my baby was STANDING! Naturally I took a million pictures (with flash, without flash, up close, farther away) to document this momentous occassion!!! She looks awfully proud doesn't she!

As I was putting away clothes in our bedroom one day, Monica decided to crawl into the bathroom and close the door. I tried to go in there and get her but she had sat RIGHT in front of the door so I couldn't open it! She finally moved and when I was able to open the door just a crack, this is the face I saw: "What's wrong Mommy? I didn't do anything wrong!" Classic

Here's my little angel "helping" me put away her clothes that I had just nicely folded. :)

Here's that "I didn't do anything wrong Mommy" face again. You gotta love it!

First time pulling herself up to standing! Go Monica!

Life Is GOOD.

Til We Meet Again

2010-05-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning Chuck Woodward, Mitch's Grandpa, passed away. He was a wonderful man. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He taught us so much. He will be missed, but we will cherish our memories of our time with him forever. He always made us smile, always offered a hug, and always told us he loved us. We love you Grandpa!

For those of you who knew and loved him, his funeral will be on Wednesday, June 2nd at 10:00 am, at the Deer Valley LDS Stake Center.

It's a....BOY!

2010-05-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

Say hello to the newest member of the Moses Family: Nash! Isn't he the CUTEST puppy you've ever seen! We already love him SO MUCH! He is so fun and such a sweetie!

Life is good.

Peoria Family Ride

2010-05-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

Every year, the first weekend in April is the Peoria Pioneer Days Family Bike Ride! We are avid cyclists in my family so of course we always participate! It's such a fun experience. The riders range from 4 year-olds with training wheels (or you could even say infants if you count the ones who ride along in carriers as "riders") to...well let's just say there are older people who come out to ride as well. :) This year they did it differently though. Usually there is a bike ride early Saturday morning and at the end of the ride there is a fun parade (equipped with old/historic cars, high school marching bands, even the Sun City cheerleaders--yes, you read that right). But this year they decided to start off the parade with the cyclists. It was a neat idea but because we were the start of the parade we didn't get to see any of the rest of the parade!!! Big time BUMMER! Don't worry, I put my two cents in with the guy in charge and told him we didn't like the change. Hopefully next year they won't do it that way again! But you know what?? It was still FUN! Monica managed to sleep through the WHOLE parade! I seriously felt like the mom on Mr. Holland's Opus, there were even firetrucks going by just like the movie and she just kept on sleeping! YIKES! But no worries, I know she can hear...she's just a really sound sleeper!

Ready to Ride!

Here comes the parde... behind us!

We stopped to say hi to Monica and my Mom before continuing...but of course she was ASLEEP!

Life is good.

Derby Demolishers!

2010-05-05T14:00:00.001-07:00

Ok so we didn't exactly DEMOLISH everyone in our ward's open pinewood derby...but we came pretty close! Mitch did an AMAZING job building our car and tricking it out so that it was SUPER fast. We came in third, but ONLY because the people who won had motors on their cars!!! I mean seriously, who puts an electric fan on the back of the car?! You gotta admit though...they were pretty sweet...and fast!

I believe the top pic is Mitch's first race that we lost. The pic under that is a winning race (notice the car still at the top that never made it past the starting gate! lol)

The Bracket! It was a very serious and competitive night!

Getting ready to RACE!

The car...enough said :)

In Serious Derby Mode

It's hard to see but this is the Championship race where we came in 3rd! Nothing wrong with Bronze Baby!!!

We love any type of competition and this night was SO FUN!

213

2010-04-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things that I would like to have 213 of...dollars for instance. Or 213 snickerdoodles, or red skittles.

But the best of all??? The 213 days our beautiful baby girl has been in our life!!! She is AMAZING! In case you don't want to add it up...it's 7 months. WOW! Monica is now 7 months old. She is the BEST baby EVER! She is so laid back. She loves to play and eat and laugh and sleep and cuddle and make lots of noise! She's starting to do this really cute thing where she crinkles her nose and whines to get what she wants. It's SO adorable! (see pic below) She has grown and learned so much this month!

Some new skills she's developed:

She can reach for her pacifier and stick in her mouth. Which is SO nice if she ever wakes up in the middle of night and she can get it herself. LOVE IT!

She can FINALLY sit up on her own now! She's been able to do it for a while but I think she was just too lazy! She was definitely holding out on us! She must have decided that she fooled us long enough!

She can drink her bottle and fall asleep at the same time! LOL This was too funny. I gave her a bottle and she fell asleep holding it. When I took it out of her hands they stayed exactly where they were as if she were still holding the bottle. :)

Not only did Monica develop some new talents...she also experienced a lot of firsts!

Her first time in a high chair at a restaurant! Red Robin...yum!

Her first bath in the BIG tub! Oh my goodness does she LOVE it!!! She licks her lips the whole time she's in the bath, I think it's funny! :)

Her first haircut. You can't tell very well but I cut her bangs....they were getting super long! She also had this 3 inch rat tail in the back of her head that went down her back. People kept giving me a hard time about cutting it so I finally gave in and chopped it off.

Her first sippy cup...still trying to figure the darn thing out!

Her first pair of 2-piece pajamas! (Size 12 Months! She's our BIG GIRL!)

Her first sign. It wasn't bad enough that her first WORD was Dadda...Now it's her first SIGN too! j/k She does it all the time. Although she may be trying to sign Mommy and she just ends up doing it on her forehead...yeah, I think that's it!

She's also had a new experience of going to babysitters during the day. Mitch got a job (YAY!) so Monica's world got turned upside down when she couldn't spend all day with Daddy anymore!: ( She's doing WONDERFUL! All her sitters say the same thing, "She's such an easy baby!". Makes me feel good.

Her new favorite thing? Playing with her "friend" in the mirror! She'll sit there forever and laugh and play or just stare at herself. It's very entertaining!

We just LOVE this baby girl! She is the light of our life and she brings us so much joy! We are so blessed to be her parents and can't imagine life without her! :)

Happy Easter!!!

2010-04-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Lots of pictures below...scroll at your own risk!

I think Easter is my favorite holiday! Of course I DO say that about every holiday! I just love celebrations and spending time with family! Everything about Easter is WONDERFUL! You get to eat tons of candy, dress in pretty pastel colors, color eggs, hang out with family, all while celebrating the greatest gift and sacrifice: The Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior! And this year was even more special because this weekend was also General Conference for our Church! Like I said in my disclaimer, there are a lot of pictures in this post so scroll carefully (I really hope nobody develops carpel tunnel...I would never forgive myself!) I uploaded the pictures backwards so we're going to start with our Sunday festivities and then do Saturday's!

Here's how our celebrations went...

Easter Sunday:

We had to wake up Monica, sleepy head, so she could see her amazing basket that the Easter Bunny left just for her!

Coloring eggs at Nana and Papa's! ( I can't remember the last time my dad actually participated in the coloring of Easter eggs...but of course now that we have Monca he was totally into it! lol)

My dad even made her a special "Monca Moo" egg!

Easter lunch at Uncle Joe and Aunt Lauri's

Monca and Mimi

Gigi and G-Pop

Easter Saturday:

Monica and her Cousin Mayli in their pretty Easter dresses! Love these girls!

Easter Egg Hunt at Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Woodward's

Helping Meme' Open her Birthday Presents! (Happy Birthday Meme' and Aunt Manda!)

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Easter! I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family to celebrate and have fun with. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that He is the Savior of all mankind. I know that he suffered and died for all of us, that we might have the opportunity to repent and live with him again. I know that He was resurrected and that He lives. What a great blessing it is to KNOW that my Savior lives, that He loves me, and that he is always here for me. Happy Easter everyone! :)

Spring Break and 6 Months Old!

2010-03-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have been having a lot of fun in the Moses family lately! Mitch and I both had Spring Break the same week so Monica got some double lovin' with both Mommy and Daddy home all week long! We had a blast! We did yard work (I know what you're thinking...but it REALLY was fun!), went to a Spring Training Baseball game, went to the Library, babysat our cousins Chloe and Zane (and discovered what our life is going to be like in 5 years with 3 kids...wow), went to the Mesa Cannery, and slept in everyday! What a great week! Here's some pics of the game. Monica's first baseball experience! And definitely NOT the last!

Ready for the game

She wasn't very impressed with the game...she loved chewing on her toys much more!

Daddy however, was VERY into the game! :)

Look at those chubby cheeks! She's definitely a chunker! I love it! So cute!

Being out in the sun pooped her out! She actually ended up with a fever that night too :( I caked SPF 50 on her and kept her in the shade the WHOLE time but she still ended up a little pink. Takes after her mommy with that!

I can't believe my Monca-Moo is already 6 months old! That's half a year! Holy Smokes! She is getting SO big! Her latest stats are: Height - 27 1/4 in (94%) Weight - 16.11 lb. (67%)

She basically loves everything about life. I have yet to find a food that she will not eat. She sleeps like a rock--day and night. Although she has gotten rid of her fourth nap, now she only takes 3 a day...such a big girl! And she no longer likes to be wrapped up tight when she sleeps. Makes Mommy a little sad! :( Her new favorite thing to do is bang her hands on things (tables, desks, counters, the pews at church...anything!) She is already SO independant. She loves to be left alone on the floor with her toys or in her saucer and she'll just play for hours! Everything she gets her hands on of course goes straight to her mouth! She's still not sitting up on her own...trying real hard though! But she is actually started to scoot around and army crawl. I keep telling her she's skipping a step, you have to sit up first girl! She definitely knows the signs for "milk" and "food" now, so if you show her one of those signs you better be ready to deliver!!! haha! Funny that those are the two signs she learned first...she absolutely does NOT like to miss a meal and knows what's important! lol She is such a joy and we just love her to pieces!

Side note on the sunglasses: she LOVES THEM! Like I said, she loves everything in life. She wore those things for an hour and a half straight on Saturday and never tried to take them off once. Such an easy going baby!

I do have to apologize to my poor baby because she will never know her real name. Her cousin Kadence had a hard time saying "Monica" so it came out "Munca" or "Monca". So that's what we call her and that's what she answers too! The other day I was trying to get her attention and I kept saying "Monica! Hey Monica!" with no response. So I finally said, "Monca!" and she snapped her head right away, looked at me and smiled. What a goof!

Life is good.

Carrots, High Chair, and Playing the Piano!

2010-03-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

Wow...I feel like every time I go to update my blog I always start with something to the effect of "I can't believe it's been so long since my last post". I'll try not to say that this time ;) Monica is already 5 Months, 1 Week, and 4 Days old! Where does the time go?!?! She is so big now! We weighed her a couple weeks ago and she's only 2 lbs. less than her cousin who is 4 Months older than her and just as long! She is one healthy girl, let me tell you! Speaking of healthy...this girl LOVES to eat! We've recently started giving her baby food and she loves her veggies! Such a good girl! So far she's scarfed down carrots, peas, and green beans. Oh and she loves her rice cereal too! I have a feeling she'll happily eat anything we offer to her! haha! Here's a picture update of the last few weeks:

Yummy Carrots! (her first experience with food...went very well!)

This is the face we get to see when she wakes up from a nap! Always so happy..and beautiful!!! :)

She's obviously still to small for her high chair...

But she LOVES chewing on it!!! hahaha

Our little Mozart! She LOVES playing the piano with Mommy and lately she's taken over completely! Whe won't even let me touch the keys anymore!!!

5 Months old

We just love her so much!!! Life is good.

Long time no blog!

2010-02-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to post about Monica's 4-Month checkup since it happened...2 weeks ago! Oh well, life as a working mom is very busy!!! Monica is just growing way too fast for me! She gets bigger, and learns something new every single day. She is so darn beautiful it melts your heart! At her last dr. appointment she was 26 in long! That's the 96%! And she's 12.14 lbs. So basically she's long and skinny! hmmm....I wonder where she gets that from! :) She is so amazing.

Things she's doing at 4 (and a half) months:

-holding her own bottle

-rolling over on both sides (back to front or vice versa, or just steamroller style over and over and over!!!)

-taking 3 naps a day

-sleeping 10 hours at night

-laughing, laughing, laughing ALL THE TIME! love it

-putting EVERYTHING in her mouth

-trying to sit up on her own (still working on it!)

-making lots of noise (either talking/singing or playing with toys-she just loves to be loud!)

-She loves to be standing up and looking at the world around her. She loves her exersaucer and gnaws on the toys all day long!

-She is a home-body for sure. She just likes to be at home where she's comfortable!

-She still loves to be wrapped up nice and tight when she sleeps

-She is happy all the time and just loves to play play play!

Here is Monica herself modeling her latest hairstyles:

Pigtails! ( I was so excited to try these out! It was high time! )

I love this baby's face!!!

The 1 Ponytail

We call this one her "Conan O'Brien"

Post Pigtails :)
She definitely got Mommy's eyes!

Holding her bottle like a big girl!

We call this her "turtle face" So cute!

Life is good.

Who doesn't like super cute free stuff?!

2010-01-31T21:35:00.000-08:00

I found this blog from my sister-in-law. The girl who does it is giving away a super cute, totally fun apron! I love it! Check it out here http://porterandkarla.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-first-give-away-all-are-welcome.html

Coming Through!

2010-01-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

My child is mobile. Monica's been rolling over A LOT, but it's always just been from her back to her tummy. She gets stuck and frustrated at that point. But just today she learned to roll from her tummy to her back! So now I can't leave her anywhere! I was doing dishes and laid some blankets down on our tile floor as a comfy safe space for her to play. Well this was when she decided to test her new skills. I put her on her back, turned away for 2 seconds and she was on her tummy. I was clapping and cheering for her when all of a sudden she rolled to her back again! And then onto her tummy! At this point she was at the edge of the area I had predetermined as "play space". Well she decided to roll over one more time onto her back and landed on tile...she didn't cry though (even as I freaked out and ran to make sure she wasn't gushing blood out the back of her head...). My child is AMAZING.

Another cool milestone: In the past Monica has ONLY napped in her swing during the day. Well today...the batteries died and we didn't have any extras! So she had no choice but to lay down in her crib for her nap. She did it without a fuss! I just laid her down and walked away and she slept for an hour and a half. I just put her in there again for another nap and she's already been asleep for half an hour. She is such an easy baby. Love her!

Life is good.

Ups and Down

2010-01-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Yes you read it right...Ups and Down. This month was full of lots of Ups, and one very big Down. But we won't dwell on that just yet. Right now let's stick with the ups (accentuate the positive right?!)

As promised here's a picture of our first Thanksgiving as a family! Thanks to my Aunt Lauri for taking the pic :)

I absolutely love December. It's by far the best month in the year for about a zillion reasons. First of all, it's winter and it's so fun to be cozy and warm, drinking hot chocolate, cuddled up under a big blanket. Can't beat that. Second, it's the most wonderful time of the year! Everything is festive and decorated (houses-inside and out-, trees, stores, cars, etc.) I love seeing the world all lit up and excited. Third, family. It's that time of year where we get to spend more time with family than usual. Love that. Fourth, presents! (had to include that) Fifth, my birthday!! I could go on and on and on and on (until I got to the zillionth reason why I love December) but that would make for a very long post. So I'll get to the pictures and let them tell you all why I love December :)

Went and saw the lights at the Mesa LDS Temple again this year. They were SO beautiful! I think they outdo themselves every year! It was amazing! And way fun to go with Monica for her first time! I'm pretty sure she had an awesome time too!

Rise and Shout! The BYU Cougars went Bowling (The Maaco Las Vegas Bowl) and they came to win!!! Rah Rah, Rah Rah Rah GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COUGARS!!! Great game. I heart BYU football. ( my mom BROKE my camera in the process of taking this pic...the camera still works though....sort of )

Mitch's mom wanted to start a tradition of giving all the grandkids pajamas on Christmas Eve. I LOVE the idea and I'm excited for it to be a yearly thing! So much fun! We tried to get some pictures of all the kids together in their new pj's...this is the best we could do. At least it's the best we got from my camera, maybe the others had more success. Either way, they looked great!

Christmas Day was so fun! Having your own child to open presents with is awesome! Of course we had to open all of Monica's presents for her! lol It was so neat to see her smile at her new toys and to grab for things, wiggling with excitement. Best Christmas ever! EVER. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too!

Monica hit her 3-month mark on Christmas Day. She is growing WAAAAAY too fast. I love every change and development, but it makes me a little weepy. Must be a mommy thing. lol She is such a great baby. So happy and playful. She is always smiling (all you have to do is look at her and she smiles, I love it) She laughs a lot too. Let me tell you what: the most beautiful sound in the entire world is the sound of your own baby laughing. Makes me cry right now just thinking about it! She is getting pretty chunky. I love her chubby cheeks! She is talking more and more too. She has the cutest little raspy voice. She doesn't coo so much any more...it's more of a....a uh...I don't even know how to describe it! She just jabbers on all the time, babbling away! So fun. She is a super sleeper. This girl LOVES her beauty rest (must be why she's so completely beautiful). She sleeps on average 10 hours a night, and still takes several naps during the day averaging an hour each. This week she slept for 13 hours straight! I had to wake her up in the morning to feed her. We had a heart to heart: I told her, "Child you do NOT need to be sleeping for 13 hours! You've got to eat!". But hey, if she wants to sleep that long who am I to deny her. She is just such a joy and I have loved every moment I've been blessed to spend with her.

I also hit a birthday milestone: 25. That's right...a 2 and a 5...together...as one number. TWENTY-FIVE! When did this happen!?!?! I do NOT feel like I'm 25. I'll admit I was pretty unhappy about turning such an ugly number. But so far 25 has treated me pretty well.

Now that we've covered all of the great moments December has to offer, let's move onto the Down...my time at home is up. My maternity leave was only for 12 weeks which means that on January 4th my world as I have come to know it will end. (So technically it's January that I'm mad at, December is still in my good favor). This has been the best 3 months of my life. Taking care of my baby and husband, being the mother and wife. I have never been so blissfully happy. But now I have to go back to the working world and I'll be away from my daughter for 40 hours every week. That's way too big a chunk of time, but it is what it is. :( I knew it would be hard, I prepared myself...or so I thought. I just keep telling myself it's only a temporary thing (it's just a very long temporary thing)