Happy New Year!!!

We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas! We did. All the siblings are home and it is so great! Christmas Day was jam packed and very fun. The grand kids got spoiled, of course! The best part is having time to play together! We are hoping for a lot more snow so we can go sledding! We are going skiing tomorrow. Please pray for me! It has been.....years!

Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas. I have all my shopping done!! I love that because now I can really relax and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and reflect on what the Savior did for all of us. Christ was the first gift of Christmas and the most important one of all!

Cereal Killer

I have nothing to say here. This picture says it all!

The Brady Bunch Expanded

Every year we get together with Monte's kids, and have a fantastic time in Sun Valley. We eat incredibly well, play games, sit in the hot tub, and have a fun gift exchange.
....and every year Monte treats us to dinner at Rico's (ridiculously fantastic pizza, salad, desserts, etc!) Thanks Monte!! It was epic as always!

Time with Daddy

 

Kaitlyn and Daddy were having a pretty good time playing in the snow.

Night Lights!!

We enjoyed the Christmas lights on temple square as a family. It was beautiful but freezing!

Poll Results

I am surprised!! The chili and cinnamon roll combo is fantastic. Especially this time of year. It must be an Idaho thing. My family can remember ward dinners, etc. where they served it up. Anyhow, thank you for your votes. Markham is utterly satisfied. :)

My Little Vampire

So the other day I found Kaity peeling an orange, by herself!!! She had peeled off almost half of it before she gave up and just started gnawing at it with her 4 teeth. You are probably thinking with her 2 top and 2 bottom ones, right? Well, you would be wrong. Kaitlyn does have 2 bottom teeth, but instead of her 2 front teeth, she has the two side ones!! What the heck!! I have a little vampire!!! Take a look at her Dad's widow's peak, I should have been expecting this!!

 

Her appetite has been substantial as of late. She eats just about everything we serve up these days. It has been quite a nice change.

Thanksgiving in Park City with the Carrolls

We had a great time visiting with Markham's family in Park City. Here is cousin Megan with Kaitlyn. In the second picture, I think Kaitlyn was trying to "pose" for the camera....I am not sure. She looks pretty silly though.
"I need a snack Mom!!" Kaitlyn took it upon herself to get a snack for herself. I just wish I could have caught her before ALL the goldfish ended up on the floor, but hey, what do you do?!


And sadly.... these are all the pics I took all week. Wow...I am ashamed. There were so many fun things going on that would have been fun to blog. We played the Wii almost constantly. We played Cranium, those would have been funny. We played cards and ate the entire time :) Just picture it!

Thank you to my Wonderful Husband

I have to publicly thank Markham for being the wonderful guy that he is. He willingly faced the insanity with me @ the Park City outlets at midnight for the After Thanksgiving Sales. He was not planning on going with me. A friend and I had planned to go together. He was very excited to stay home and feel good about it because I was going to have a girls' night out. When he discovered my friend couldn't make it, and before I even asked, he quietly changed from his sweats to jeans and piled on 2 sweatshirts and a jacket to go and brave the long lines with me. Not only that, but he waited patiently while I tried on and modeled so many jeans for him and then got the "keep" and "discard" piles so confused that I had to start all over again. He simply waited. Not one complaint. He even waited while I ventured into the Gap trap with everyone else in the state and waited in a line long enough to make a person cry. He helped me pick out cute little outfits for Kaitlyn @ Carter's and didn't even protest when I wanted to go to Famous Footwear. All of this with a miserable sore throat and runny nose!!! What did I do?! What did I do to deserve such a wonderful, patient, long-suffering guy like him?! I haven't a clue....... I love you Mard!!

Help Us Settle a Score

Ok, so we were at my parents house a couple of weekends ago and my mom made chili and cinnamon rolls, not for dessert, but to eat with the chili :) YUM. (Not exactly a Weight Watchers meal I realize.) Markham freaked out because he had never heard of having the two together before. He thought we were all nuts........and so did my sister's husband. So, you tell us, have you heard of this? If you haven't, you are missing out on something fantastic!!! A little sweet and a little salty....who wouldn't love it!

Autonomy!

Kaitlyn has become incredibly independent! She has decided that she is DONE with me feeding her. She can do it herself.....or so she thinks. After I feed her a couple of bites, she shakes her head, as if to say "no way" and reaches for the spoon. I understand that this is an exciting milestone but also a huge mess. So I throw a towel down underneath her and let her have at it. I am a little concerned however because she doesn't hardly get any of it into her mouth, just all over her face, her chair, her clothes, the floor, etc. And again, if I try to lend a hand to the little novice eater she will have nothing to do with it. What is a mother to do? So I try to give her easy things to eat, but her appetite is so lame - she hardly eats anything! The only thing she eats a lot of is toast with butter and bananas and even then, she throws it all on the floor & says, "uh oh!"

I realize it looks like she is eating glue.....yuck! But I was actually trying to get her to eat some brown rice and vegetables. She only has 2 teeth.....still!!! What the heck!!

Marshmallow Puff

We bought Kaitlyn a new coat recently. She likes it, but it is huge!! It is 18 months, but what the heck!! As soon as you get to 12 months- the next size is 18 months? Am I the only one who finds this ridiculous? We were going along so nicely at 3 month intervals. 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12....why not 12-15?! Seriously though. I guess we are just waiting on that growth spurt.

Our Little Lion.........

Kaity was a Lion for Halloween. We intended to make it a family affair. I was going to be Dorothy, I've always wanted to be Dorothy. Markham was going to be the scarecrow. And........we were so boring. Shame Shame Shame on us. We had a great time though. Markham's office had a little party for the kiddies. Where was Kaitlyn's smile you ask? We were asking too. I think it was mega over-stimulation.

Alright Already!

So I guess Kaitlyn still looks just like her Daddy. 80% of the votes say so, more like 90%.... I should probably come clean. I was one of the 2 votes for Mommy. I was afraid the results would indicate this when I posted the poll. I can't help but feel sorry for myself. Good Grief. I am the one who was pregnant for the longest 9 months ever, endured the anticipation, the morning sickness, the stretch marks, the sleeping problems, the cravings, the mood swings, the constant need to pee, labor and delivery, etc. etc. and the little one looks nothing like me. What?!

3 Year Anniversary!

Time has flown by. We are such a great team. The past 3 years have been great. I look forward to the many that will come. Markham makes me want to be a better person and everyday I am grateful that he is my husband now & forever.

A Night Away

We spent a night in Sun Valley for our Anniversary. It was absolutely fabulous. The fall colors were breathtaking! Love it Love it Love it. A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to my parents for taking Kaitlyn for us. It is amazing how much you appreciate going to a dinner and a movie alone, not to mention getting to sleep in!! We don't get the chance very often. It was just AWESOME! Thanks again!!

Sorry Little Sister

When we are in Sun Valley we usually have breakfast at the Kneadery. It is a very charming little place that serves fantastic food. Well this time was no exception. Markham and I enjoyed a ridiculously over sized delicious breakfast fit for kings. With that being said, I had to take a picture of this man here, Lindsey's boyfriend. He says hi little sister and wants to know how things are going......
Now for those of you who are confused, let me explain. See, we were eating at the Kneadery once and Lindsey said after quite some time, "That man over there is staring at me."
She thought this guy was real!!!! I guess she didn't have the nerve to look at him directly. So we tease her about it whenever we can. Today is no exception Linds. I love you. Thanks for keepin' us laughing.

Pumpkin Carving Fest!

We decided to carve some pumkins!! It was fantastic. Always a fun tradition. I bet you can't tell which one Markham carved?! (the evil one)

I am 1 year old!!

Kaitlyn's birthday was on Saturday. We had the siblings over for a little cake and ice cream. She had Red Velvet cake of course. It has been a family tradition for birthdays. If you haven't had this cake, you must!! The icing is the best part. "It's like butter", but seriously, it pretty much is. Fantastically scrumpdillyumptious.

She wasted no time!

Not bad!!

She was very, very focused. Having your first cake and eating it too is pretty serious business.
Yum!

Jackpot!!

Kaitlyn was well taken care of this year. Thanks to everyone for making it extra special for her!! She is completely fascinated with all of her new trinkets. And I am loving all of her cute little clothes. She will learn to appreciate style soon enough.

She has really been getting brave with her giraffe.

This little phone has been quite the find. It is never too far from her sight.

Thanks guys!

xoxoxoxoxo

Scrub a-dub-dub, 2 cousins in the tub!!

So here are the naked babies that have been keeping me so busy. I have been watching Parker for a couple of weeks during the day. Wow, it makes me really get a taste of what it must be like to have twins. It was busy!! But a lot of fun too. They are really good friends and kept each other entertained and in "double trouble"!!

Wii are having Fun!!

So we got a Wii. When Markham suggested we get one I thought he was kidding, he wasn't. When he casually checked at every store, I wondered, ok, maybe he is serious....he is nuts.....but maybe for Christmas. When he finally found one at a Shopko and informed me they were holding it for him for 30 minutes so he could "talk to his wife" I knew it was a worthless battle.

Lindsey and Dylan are having a pretty intense tennis match here. Lindsey put up an impressive fight, but Dylan prevailed. After all, he is the champion, just ask him.

That smile is worth the money!

Top 10 Reasons Why Fall is Fanstastic

• Finally, a reprieve from the ridiculous a/c bill!!
• Crazy corn mazes
• My favorite shows start up again: the Office, House, etc.
• Fall colors and crisp air
• Holiday season is on the way!!
• Yummy treats!
• General Conference
• I met Markham fall 2003
• I married him fall 2004
• Kaitlyn was born fall 2006
  

Need there be more?!

Step 1 - Cracker.......Step 2 - Bath

Okay, so this teething thing is getting horrific. She must be getting more teeth, right? Good grief she only has 2 and she is coming up on her 1st Birthday! She has been so fussy and whiny. She is chewing on everything!!! It has never been this bad. And we are back to waking up at 3 am again. I forgot how much fun that is. So.....I let her gnaw on crackers quite a bit. She loves them and I love the fact that they are actually edible.

.....But she makes quite a mess. So bath time!!

Don't you think she kinda looks like that little girl on the Grinch, Little Cindy Lou Hoo or something, I'm not sure if that's right, but I bet you know what I am talking about

All clean!!