.

Halloween

2011-11-11T11:03:00.007-06:00

Here's a recap of our halloween activities.

First, the Trunk or Treat. Elizabeth was Abby Cadabby (from Sesame Street.)

It was cold that night so Natalie was a flamingo. (And she would NOT let me take a decent picture of her!)

The girls got WAY too much candy.

On Halloween, Elizabeth and I carved her pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and made her first Jack-O-Lantern. She picked the face out all by herself from a bunch of samples on the internet.

We went trick or treating at the outlet mall by our house that afternoon with Elizabeth's 3 quasi brothers. She liked being Abby so much she wanted to do it again.

That day was unseasonably warm so Natalie was Tinkerbell.

And she was still not interested in letting me take a decent picture of her.

Here's Elizabeth and her entourage. Do you love the mario and luigi costumes because I did.

Elizabeth did not want to take her nap on Halloween so I didn't make her...and this is what she looked like on the way home from the outlets. It was only 5:30 pm.

She woke up in time for dinner and decided she wanted to trick or treat at the neighbor's house and like 5 others. It worked out great. That was plenty for Natalie's attention span. Evidently she was over being told what a cute Tinkerbell she was.

Hope yours was great too!

What a lucky summer evening...

2011-07-03T21:13:00.004-05:00

So there we were, chillin at the park watching Adam's rec league softball game when cutest ever Nikki Morris turns around with a camera in hand. The next thing I knew I see Elizabeth and Natalie smiling from ear to ear while actually LOOKING AT THE CAMERA! What? Who knew that was actually possible! Anyone who knows me knows that I am INCAPABLE of getting my children to look at the camera which is clear evidence to me that Nikki has some kind of super power. She claims to be a novice, but I think you'll agree with me that these pictures don't look like the work of a rookie.

The softball games are such fun. The team is made up of a bunch of guys Adam really likes. And the wives are girls I just love to be around so it's a good chance for us to visit while we watch Dad show off his mad baseball skillz. Fingers crossed for another season of baseball!

2011-06-26T22:45:00.002-05:00

Natalie had been running a pretty high random fever. I was taking her temp and Elizabeth was watching. I was trying to keep her from bugging Natalie or from catching whatever Natalie had.

E:"Mom, what are you doing?"
Mom: "I'm taking Natalie's temperature to see if she's sick."
E:"Mom, is Natalie sick?"
Mom:"She's got a fever. I'm not sure if she's sick though so please don't touch her."

Enter Dad.

E: "Dad, don't touch Natalie. She's got a beaver."

After baths we were putting lotion on Elizabeth. She saw a freckle on her ankle and in a super whiny, I'm just about to cry voice she starts to panic.

E: MOM! I've got an owie!
M: Silly, that's not an owie. It's a freckle. Freckles don't hurt!

In a super happy, perky voice and while pointing at her freckle:

E. MOM! Look at my pickle!

2011-05-24T21:28:00.002-05:00

Last night we were reading scriptures and talking about the wicked king Noah. We were talking about how he had all his wicked priests replace all the righteous ones. Elizabeth in her super emphatic way puts both hands out, palms up,and shouts "oh no! That's horbidle" then when Adam was able to hold a straight face, we told her how they were going to kill abinadi. Elizabeth strikes the same pose as before. This time she says "dad, that's diculous!" a la la la!

During prayers this morning, we were helping Elizabeth. I told her to say "help me not to hit." Elizabeth said "help me to spit." ah, what a difference a letter makes. :)

And Natalie got a top tooth today! Who told that squishy little angel she could get bigger?

A day in the life...

2011-04-28T15:38:00.003-05:00

The scene:
Elizabeth is in the back yard playing with her little friend Camden. I'm sitting in the frame of the back door watching the kids. Elizabeth runs inside past me and quickly turns around and heads back outside.

E: "Eckoos me, mom. I need to run an errand."
M: "Oh, sorry. Am I in your way? Here, I'll scoot over."
E: "Thanks, Mom. I have to run an errand, ok Mom?"
Pause
E: "OK Mom?"
M: It dawns on me that she's waiting until I say ok. "OK honey. Have a good trip."
E: running toward her little play house. "I'll be right back, Mom."

E opens the door to her play house and shouts "Erin? Erin!"

Oh...THAT kind of errand. (We know an adorable little girl named Erin)

LATER THAT DAY, driving in the car home.

E: MOM! I need a drink!
M: Say "please," honey.
E: (Completely sincerely and in the most earnest tone): Please honey.

Careful what you say. They're listening!

To Nana, Papas, Grandma and Grandpa with Love

2010-12-27T21:35:00.015-06:00

As promised, a complete pictoral play by play of Christmas morning. Hope it's as fun for you to watch as it was for us to be a part of! We had SUCH fun. All day we watched Christmas movies (How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a Muppet Christmas Carol among my favorites) and read Christmas books. We snuggled and lounged and dressed in pretty greens and reds. Here's Natalie showing off her Christmas Eve attire. We made homemade pizza and ate dinner by candlelight. The girls thought that was pretty great.

We read the Christmas story and acted it out with our Little People Nativity. We baked 7 layer cookies for Santa (because that's what Santa wanted to eat!) We opened our first present of Christmas on Christmas Eve which was a brand new pair of pajamas for everyone. We sang our favorite Chrismas carols and got all ready for bed in our new pjs. Then we let the little ones join us in a little watching of Home Alone and we even let them stay up past bed time.

And then...CHRISTMAS MORNING! Natalie woke up first so we got to play with her for a bit before Elizabeth decided to roll out. Yep. That's right. On Christmas morning, my two year old decided to sleep in for maybe the second time ever in her life. EVER! She didn't get up until 8:30! Lazy bones!

Here's Elizabeth with her Christmas treats already all over her face!

And of course our smiley girl just beaming in her Christmas jammies too...

Elizabeth couldn't contain herself. She was so excited she just had to hug someone. Good thing Natalie is such a good sport.

She was kind enough to pause and let us get a picture of the two of them in front of some of their Christmas loot.

She couldn't wait long though. Look at the anticipation on this face!

Elizabeth loved the presents that were too big or awkwardly shaped to wrap once they had been put together. So much so, however, that she refused to open the ones that were wrapped. She got finished opening her stocking and then she didn't want to open any more presents. This was perhaps her most distracting gift in her stocking. :)

We had to beg her to open a crucial few more and then she just left the rest under the tree.

Natalie angelically slept through the first round of present opening.

She woke up after Elizabeth had lost interest and Natalie then opened (read: tried to eat) her presents. It looks like she approved though, given that she gummed them each in turn. She's no respecter of presents.

We played with toys, ate cinnamon rolls and drank yummy cider and generally just revelled in having Dad home with us. Christmas comes right at the end of his busy season so this is certainly the most we've seen him since the end of September.

Eventually we got dressed

and headed over to Mark and Carrie's for dinner. Carrie made the most delectable dishes (no offense, Dale. I'm told the rolls were great but one just can't compete with bavarian.) The kids at their table, the grown ups at their table

and the squishy one sleeping sweetly under the tree. What a great present she is! Have I mentioned that I love this baby? Squishy, good natured and adorable. L.O.V.E.

Just as a side note, here are a few other memories from the Christmas season this year.
Mark and Carrie tipped us off to the cutest little outdoor Santa's village. We met them there one evening. It was freezing but as you can see, the cousins didn't care.

The lights were beautiful and Adam even got out of work early enough to be able to meet us there for which we were thrilled.

Mrs. Claus gave the girlies cookies and they were so cute eating them. And that was after the girls got to ride reindeer (or saddles on bales of hay, but let's not get hung up on details)

And natalie and I met Frosty the Snowman. He's kinda cute, right?

I was trying to take pictures of the girls in their dresses they wore to church the Sunday before Christmas. (Please take note of the traditional sunday mess in the background that is borne of a mad scramble to get to church on time with the appropriate amount of toys, books and snacks to keep children happy). Natalie was cooperative as usual.

Elizabeth...not so much.

Until I agreed to photograph her in what she wanted to be wearing. Her diaper, her necklaces, her bracelets and her heels. I'd like to add that she has matching pairs of both the pink and blue heels, but she insists that she wear one pink and one blue. Don't ask me. It's been a year and half since I could tell that girl what to do! :)

Our FHE activity last week was building gingerbread houses. We had quite the time putting them together and we're pretty sure we've got a future in gingerbread house making!

But seriously, look at this masterpiece!

Our cute friends tried to argue that they even approximated our mad gingerbread house making skills, but alas. Not so much. Celeste is, however, a champ at getting Natalie to fall asleep so we'll keep her around anyway. And Donovan was wearing a t-shirt that said "10 things you didn't know about Chuck Norris." If that isn't a reason to keep these two around, I don't know what is.

And finally, this is for Nana. They say hello and that they miss you. We got to feed them the day before Christmas because it was 85 degrees.

For all you haters out there, keep in mind how awesome Texas is that you can cruise out to the pond in your flip flops in December. I could get used to this life!

We hope you all had as merry of a Christmas as we did and that you had an opportunity feel the true spirit of Christmas. What a magical time of year!

Yes, they really are that cute.

2010-10-31T23:28:00.006-05:00

Uncle Jacob was kind enough to come back to town. Have I mentioned that I love it when Jacob comes? He's like my other brother I never knew I had until I met Adam. What I wouldn't do to keep him around a little more. He's an amazing photographer and these are some of the gems he captured while he was here.

Don't you guys think Jacob should start a photography business? I do.

It's love...

2010-10-05T22:02:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I think my heart will burst just watching Elizabeth hug, kiss, sing to, snuggle, talk to, play with and read to her sister.

What we have been up to lately...

2010-09-12T16:59:00.008-05:00

Nothing, that's what! Just kidding. Nana just went back to California. Adam just went back to work after paternity leave so my new reality is just setting in. So, before I permanently lose any remaining sanity, here's a recap of how we spent our first two weeks of bliss...

Natalie got to meet some more of her cousins and get spoiled by her aunties at her first game day tailgate party (sad day, UCLA, sad day).

Of course we make time to stare at this snuggly little face.

Elizabeth has been learning how to work all of her sister's toys and "help her" turn them on and off.

Nana took her turn napping with Natalie because how rude would it be to make her nap alone, right?

Natalie has been enjoying some spa time

Of course we had to make some more time to stare at this squishy little face.

Natalie did some sun bathing while we did our best to work off that jaundice

We at tons of take out...all healthy of course. Adam's work had dinner delivered to us for 7 nights which was a pretty fantastic perk to add to the two weeks of paternity they gave him. Let's hear it for the boss man!

Elizabeth took advantage of the opportunities to show off her baby sister and I certainly could not have been expected to pass up the chance to dress them alike, now could I?

We spent some down time just memorizing every feature of this little miracle

And then we decided to mix things up by staring at this sweet little face.

Elizabeth saw that Natalie could stick out her tongue so she decided to see if she could provoke her baby sister to do it more often.

Natalie got introduced to story time which precedes naps and bed time and she appears to like it.

In fact, Elizabeth enjoyed the company so much she read stories to Natalie herself the next time. Turns out both girls are big fans of the Cat in the Hat.

All of the sudden, though, all the fun had to stop! We had to stop hogging Nana in the way that only one can when she has just had a baby and she had the nerve to go back to Cali with Papas! What's that about? At least she played dress up with Natalie one last time before she left.

We've become pretty big fans of this leisure time with as much Dad and Nana time as we wanted. Too bad it had to end so fast...

We had to console ourselves somehow, so we went ahead and got back to staring at this beautiful little face.

We're in love. Two is definitely better than one. How lucky could two parents be?

Mission Accomplished.

2010-08-28T22:09:00.009-05:00

Everyone, once again I made it to my due date. Thank heavens for medical science and the ability we have to coax the little bounders on their due dates even if they haven't seen fit to come on their own.

So, here I am in all of my 9 month pregnant glory at 6 am on our way to the hospital. No camera tricks here. This is really ALL me.

5 hours into the induction, here I am just about ready to meet my new little one for the first time.

Adam and Mom, sensing the moment was near, trying to contain their enthusiasm.

And here she is! Beautiful, sweet and just perfect. Look at that little face.

You'll all be happy to know that she aced her tests. :) She's already an over achiever.

This is my personal favorite part of having a baby. The very first snuggle with Mama and Baby. She cried and wailed when she was first born and she didn't stop when they cleaned her off or weighed her or checked her APGARS and all of that. She just wanted to make sure her little voice was heard. And then, they brought her to me fussing quite profusely and the sweet little girl snuggled right up and quieted right down. I love how they recognize Mom right off and how they respond to Mom. It seems like we've earned that kind of a nod after what we just went through, right?

She got to meet her big sister for the first time (and it actually went better than I would have thought.)

Mark and Carrie came to visit that night but I was actually too out of it to remember to snap any pictures of them with her. I'll never know why it didn't occur to me but I did manage to snap this photo of her with cousin Bubba. He was sweet as pie with her and it was so cute to watch the two of them interact.

Elizabeth got to come back later in the evening and hang out with us again. She and her sister had some pretty hilarious conversations. I love that Elizabeth has a sister.

We had our hospital food hospital steak and lobster dinner to celebrate the occasion. It was fun to have a little "date" in the hospital and even though the food wasn't so awesome, it really was a good chance for us to celebrate what an amazing miracle it is to welcome a new baby into our family. We feel so blessed.

So after two days in the hospital, Adam and I couldn't stand one more day away from our Elizabeth. We asked to be checked out as early as they would possibly let us out so we were all set and ready to go by like 8:00 this morning. We weren't discharged until about 10 but we were doing our best. Fortunately we had nothing to worry about. Nana had so graciously been on Elizabeth duty since she left the hospital on Thursday and Elizabeth was just happy as a clam.

Here she is all strapped in and set for her first trip in the car. I'm telling you this child does not cry. She sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. I sent her to the nursery last night about 12 and they didn't bring her back until 4 am. She wasn't even crying. They just woke her up because they thought it was time to eat. And after she ate, she went right back to sleep for another 4 hours.

Can you stand her little booties? I love baby feet. Just adorable. Impossibly cute.

Nana had been so great about watching Elizabeth that she hadn't gotten to see her new little angel since Thursday. Her little face had changed so much and so these two girls had some catching up to do. They seemed to have a great time doing it.

Elizabeth was pretty excited to have mom and dad back home today. She got to have a picnic lunch on the living room floor and she got away with even more murder than Nana had let her get away with already. She was super happy and excited and it showed all afternoon. She was just giddy running around and playing. It was fun for us to see her back to her normal self.

She's coming around to having a little sister. She's doing her best to share toys, bring her pacis, diapers, burp cloths, etc. and she even talks to her. She was extraordinarily helpful to dad in putting together this bouncy and other toys we needed too. If she cries, Elizabeth gets right in her face and asks her what is wrong and why she is crying. Tonight she gave her sister a kiss and told her goodnight before bed and then after she was in her crib, she shouted down the hall a goodnight wish to her sister.

This is how we see her most often now here at home. Perched in her "throne" and sleeping peacefully. She's super different than Elizabeth was. She sleeps a lot a lot a lot and she loves to be held and snuggled. She is not a huge eater and she's not much of a crier. She squeaks all the time and we find it hilarious.

Like her sister, her middle name is borrowed from her great grandmother. We think it's a fun tradition for our children and it gives their names meaning. And so begins our journey with our beautiful Natalie Catherine. We'll keep you posted on how life continues with her. Wish us luck for continued peace with our wonderful fun darling baby. We can't get enough of her.

2010-07-24T22:16:00.003-05:00

To you, they are just a pair of baby sandals. However, to Elizabeth, they are much more. When Nana was out here visiting months ago, she couldn't resist these little shoes. We got in the car and she turned around and handed them to Elizabeth who was already securely fastened into her car seat. Upon first glimpse of them, my little 18 month old baby cooed and said "oooohhh. cooot!(her version of cute)."

Nana was pleased with her purchase but had no idea the monster she'd created. It was that pair of shoes from which my little babe derived her obsession with shoes. And who can blame her? You should see her little baby feet and pink toenails in them, or any shoes really. In fact, I often find 2 or more pairs of my shoes lying around the house because she needed to try them on and wear them around the house as well. A word of caution though. Heaven help the unwitting grown up who wants to help her put them on. Be prepared to hear "My turn put on shoes!" I'll admit that it is pretty great to not have to scrunch my ever growing self down to put her shoes on for her though. Her timing could not be better. Now if only I could get her to clean her own room...:)

It was a tough day...

2010-07-24T21:54:00.006-05:00

You moms of little ones will understand. Those days when you can't seem to say or do anything that doesn't annoy the little darling. Early the next morning, I took her outside to enjoy some morning sun. She insisted (and I do mean insisted) that I put her down, even though she didn't have any shoes on. I obliged because I was not prepared to have another day like the one before.

She scurried off...

To bring me this. "Here, Mama," she says, "a flower! Mama want another flower? I get you another flower?" I smiled at her and told her it was beautiful and she beamed back at me for a minute before she ran off to find another flower for me. Yes, I know I should be apalled at the state my back yard was in that day before it had its weekly grooming. And yes, I know it's just a weed. But in her mind it was something beautiful that she knew I would love and she wanted to give it to me. And she was so proud of herself for making me so happy. How can you not love a baby who knows Mama loves flowers and runs to get them for her at her first opportunity?

Don't you love that about babies? They don't even remember from one day to the next that they hated your guts yesterday. Maybe she will think I'm cool one day...one day far far away. But some day it will happen. We're gonna make it, she and I. We'll be besties. I can feel it. :)

2010-06-22T19:41:00.002-05:00

We asked Elizabeth tonight what we should name the new baby. Without hesitation, she said "George."

In Elizabeth's world, there is no name more beautiful than Curious George. Like attracts like, I suppose. One naughty monkey deserves another.

Yet another reason I ADORE having family around...

2010-06-10T23:11:00.005-05:00

Elizabeth gets to make great memories with her cousins.

She's just giddy every time she sees them.

Despite being an only child (for the next 2 months or so), she still has the benefit of getting roughed up by people she loves.

And, they wear her out with little to no effort on my part. We love you guys. Thanks for playing with us.

2010-06-10T23:06:00.002-05:00

When I say this girl is into everything, I mean EVERYTHING!

Look at her all caught in the act of getting into my mascara.

On a positive note, she looks like she's grasped the concept of where to put mascara.

That little smirk says "I know I got caught but I can tell Mom's not mad. Baby gets away with another act of mischief!"

And here she is painting her face with toothpaste.

And now she's scowling at me for trying to catch this on film.

In somewhat related news, Adam is excellent at getting mascara out of clothes so please check with him if you ever have the need.

Today while I was putting on my make up, she somehow got ahold of some concealer and fingerpainted the bathroom door with it. I should have suspected something was up when she didn't come pull at my leg begging for make up or hair product for longer than 60 seconds. What can I say? It's just another rookie mistake.

2010-05-27T12:41:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Shrimp was following me around as I was tidying up. She walked into our master and shut the door behind her without realizing it. When she turned and noticed the door was "mysteriously" shut and said "what the devil?!?" :) Wonder where she got that from...

2010-05-17T22:43:00.002-05:00

The other day, Shrimp and I were cruising around town running our errands like any other day. I hear her asking me something from the back seat and I can't make out what she's saying. I asked her several times to repeat it but I never could figure it out.

Finally when we stop and I go to get her out of her seat, I asked her again what she was saying.

She said, very emphatically I might add, "How are you, Mama?"
"OH!!! I'm good, Baby. How are you?"
"Good," she says. "I'm pretty."

I just laughed but inside I was thinking how I hope she never loses that. I hope she'll always think she is beautiful, wonderful, perfect. Because she is.

The verdict?

2010-04-07T21:27:00.005-05:00

Here's your one last chance to take a guess at the gender of the newest Braun baby.

While you're thinking about that, let me answer a few of your questions.

1. I'm 20 weeks, give or take a day or two.
2. I'm due sometime around the end of August.
3. We were not surprised to find out we are having another baby, at least not any more than anyone else who wants another baby and finds out they get to have one. Thrilled. Ecstatic. Giddy. Thankful. But not surprised.
4. Elizabeth can't wait to have a sister. And we can't wait to have another baby girl. We're pretty enamored with the little one we have and feel incredibly lucky that we get to have another one.
5. Someone asked so I'll answer: I am absolutely not sick of pink. Can that even happen? I can't imagine it. If anything, I can't wait to get all those cute teeny baby pink things back out! And I love a reason to make our blog pink again. Heaven help Adam. :)

Thanks for being excited for us. Good news is always better when you get to share it.

Why I hope Adam will be in charge of planning our anniversary forever and ever

2010-04-06T13:35:00.014-05:00

He does such a great job. Adam knows I love, more than anything, a surprise. For our anniversary this time, he told me not to plan anything and that he'd take care of babysitting and everything. He told me Friday night would be when we'd celebrate. I didn't ask any questions because I was content to see what he'd surprise me with.

Well, Thursday night he says to me "I guess I should give you a little hint just in case..." I looked at him and thought "what does that mean?" He said, "you know, in case you want to pack something specific and you'll need some notice." Um, what?

He proceeded to tell me that we'd be flying out Friday to go to San Diego and we'd be back Monday. What? No, seriously. What? Are we really going? We honeymooned in San Diego and just had the best time ever. We swore we'd go back every few years just to reminisce about the best week of all time. And we did!

So, here's the travelogue.

We got there Friday night and went directly from the rental car lot to In-N-Out. Obviously.

We woke up in the morning in that gorgeous hotel in that beautiful city and just couldn't stop looking at the view. It was beautiful. Shrimp just basked in the morning sun.

After a leisurley breakfast, we cruised on over to the San Diego Zoo. It was so much fun there! I love that zoo because every exhibit is so well presented. It's like each animal is their most prized animal and so every exhibit shows so well. Plus, they set up the exhibits so that kids in strollers can see the animals as well as if they were being held. (Happy news for parents.)

Shrimp was so funny. Every animal that she recognized was treated to an impromptu, completely unprovoked but full regailing of her interpretation of it's sound. The ducks heard a vigorous quack. The tigers heard her very fiercest roar.

But it was the monkeys that had the last laugh. She started off with her monkey sound at the top of her lungs and these monkeys proceeded to swing furiously through the trees making the real monkey sound. Really loudly. And the look on her face was priceless. She was completely shocked. Floored. She really could not figure out what was wrong with the monkey. She looked at me like "Mom, what's he doing? He's doing it wrong! Doesn't he know how to sound like a monkey?" Her monkey impersonation stopped then and there. My little jabber mouth isn't often speechless but she certainly was at that moment. I laughed so hard.

We also got to meet a baby panda which was rad! There are only so many people allowed in to see them at a time and you're not supposed to talk above a whisper. Yep. That's right. My baby. Whispering. Just picture it. I couldn't either, but she did it. Quiet as a church mouse. Shocker.

We were in the mood for a rest after all that animal watching so we took an air tram ride over the zoo. So relaxing and such a nice change of scenery...or viewpoint, I guess.
Shrimp was just completely worn out. Adam and I walked around for a couple more hours enjoying the quiet and the beautiful weather and then took off.

We got to La Jolla just in time to catch a beautiful sunset. I miss the sunsets on the water more than most.

Elizabeth had to be satisfied with dipping her toes in the sand even though she'd much rather have gone headfirst into the surf. That's my water baby!

The next morning we cruised up the coast to LA to surprise my parents. Of course Adam would know there would be no way that I could stand being so close to my family and not go see them so he built that into the trip. He even called my little bro Brett to coordinate the ambush with him. So thoughtful!

It was the NFL playoffs and Brett was tivoing them when we got there. Mom and Dad were still at church so Brett took the opportunity to warm up the crowd. Here he is helping Elizabeth get pumped and signaling touchdown. As usual, she warmed up to him immediately. I can't blame her. That kid is just so loveable.

Mom got home from church first as Dad had a home teaching visit. She walked in the door and I met her in the living room. The look she gave me was priceless. She just kept saying "What?" Over and over. It took me a minute or two to decide if she was happy to see me. The shock wore off by and by and the bone crushing hug she gave me afterwards says the surprise was a pleasant one. She wasted no time making friends with Elizabeth too. Yogurt puffs. Works every time. Plus Nana has all kinds of dress ups and accessories and that'll warm shrimp up, no problem.

Next home was Papas. When I met him at the door, he repeatedly patted my shoulder, then his chest. When he finally got around to speaking, he said "are you really here? I'm not dead. At least I think I'm not dead. You're not dead, are you?" No, Dad. Not that I'm aware of. :) Anyway, he said it was the biggest surprise he's ever had. Adam should be proud for handing him the biggest surprise of his life. Papas and Shrimp made friends easily enough. She liked letting Papas read her stories. He does an excellent job of impersonating storybook characters, evidently.

Elizabeth is one of more than 20 grandchildren on my side of the family so she doesn't often get her Nana, Papas and uncle Brett all to herself and she lived it up. It was obvious that she relished having time with all of them. She was totally herself, unrestrained and uncensored and most people don't get to see that side of her. I was so happy that my family got to see her that way. I'm not sure when she'll ever have them to herself again. Thanks Brett for keeping the surprise and thanks Mom and Dad for being so gracious about unexpected houseguests while you were in the middle of a ridiculous, heinous, kitchen, dining room, living room, family room, game room remodel.It meant the world to us to have that time with you. And the renovation turned out ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. I covet the new look so I say all the growing pains were worth it! Thanking Adam would take an entirely separate post and I'll spare you all of that. That can be done off line.

Late that night we made the drive back down to SD. We slept in the next morning and lingered on the balcony. The view of the marina and the surf was my favorite part.

We ate breakfast on the marina. Shrimp dutifully pointed out each and every bird that flew by which was very informative for each of our dining companions. I know they appreciated it, even if they didn't say so explicity. :)

We took a wonderful stroll along the water and the bay and soaked in as much of the San Diego sunshine as we could humanly absorb. Elizabeth fearlessly chased the seagulls right down to the water and made friends with each of the locals she came across. Love a friendly baby!

And then, one last stop at In-N-Out as we made our sad way to the airport.

Elizabeth seriously consumed an entire In-N-Out Burger all by herself. She may look small, but she packs a whole lotta food in those 20 little pounds. I've surmised that she can put down twice her body weight in a single meal. Trust me. You'd have to see it to believe it.

Adam showed way more self control than I did. He didn't even have a single shake the whole time we were there. Does that even count as an In-N-Out run? I think not.

I, on the other hand, have absolutely no restraint. Nope. I think my total for the weekend was 2 neopolitan shakes, 1 order of fries, 1 pink lemonade and 3 burgers, animal style, protein style. Now, I know that may seem excessive...and it is. But hey, I'm allowed. After all, I am eating for two.

Yep. That's right. And we find out tomorrow what the baby is. Predictions?

Spring

2010-03-11T16:54:00.003-06:00

Winter,

Do my eyes decieve me? Are there blossoms on the trees in the Brauns' back yard? Sent by one called Spring? Could it be? Are your frigid tormenting clutches finally relaxing their relentless grip on us? Indeed, does your demise bring with it another reason to go on living? I daresay yes!! I even put on shorts today to celebrate, or rather to puncutate my glee at the early signs of your surrender to my beloved Spring. And may I say that it is about time. Long overdue, at that. But better late than never. And by the way, neener neener.

And to you, Spring. You sure have taken your time this year. I'll confess that I began to doubt. I wondered if you'd lost your way back to us. But all is forgiven. Flowers will do that to a girl. Even if you did just splash them willy nilly on any tree in the neighborhood. I'm not picky. I'll take them any way you send them. I've missed you, my Dear. Call your friend Summer and tell him not to dawdle, won't you? Thanks, Darling. Now make yourself at home and let's agree that you'll stay awhile, shall we?

Kisses,

Tamara

Where has the time gone?

2010-01-20T10:59:00.004-06:00

Surely someone out there remembers when we still looked like this, right? Back when our big worry was whether the linens at our reception would be a shade of almond or creme. OK, maybe that was my big worry and Adam's big worry was if I'd ever stop talking about indistinguishable shades of tan but I digress. I've been laughing all day thinking about what a fuss I made over the wedding and that's SO not even the good part about finding the proverbial one and getting married! You make this huge deal over one day when really it's every day after that really matters. It's true though. The wedding is pretty huge for one reason. Your life changes completely on that one day. And while it's built up to be the best day of your life, aren't we all so lucky that it's not? Sure, it was the best day I'd had so far, but tomorrow always holds more.

So to those nay sayers out there who say you couldn't possibly be happier married than you were single, I say bologna! I am. And I was really happy single! But just as the gospel adds joy to a life that was already pretty great, having someone who loves you unconditionally, who knows you inside and out and still finds reasons to think you're spectacular, and who gives you the sweetest baby in the entire world could adds greater joy to an already pretty happy girl. Thanks, Adam. Here's to one more year down and here's to a mazillion more to come.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-06T21:32:00.004-06:00

ELizabeth was blessed to have a wonderful halloween this year. We started out by getting her all dressed and ready and taking her across the street to see her beloved neighbors, Jenna, Sam, Teri and Steve. She just loved to see their reactions to her and we loved to see their costumes too. Here's Jenna and Elizabeth checking each other's costumes out.

Then we got to take Elizabeth to trick or treat at her first house which also happens to be the house of her favorite brothers: Dekan, Chandler and Camden. I don't know if she was more excited about the treats or seeing them in their costumes but it was good times.

And then we kinda lucked out. We go to take Elizabeth's cousins Emma, Camille, Ashley and Nate trick or treating for the rest of the evening. She was worn out by the time we wrapped it up but it was a day well spent. We'll post more pics when we get our computer situation worked out but for now, that's our story.

Elizabeth's Version of "Helping"

2009-09-19T23:30:00.003-05:00

Not to point fingers or anything but this it is impossible to keep my house in the kind of order I crave. But thanks for sending the package Mom. Elizabeth was so pleased to see her favorite sippy cup home safe and sound and I was happy to see all of the goodies! You're the best.

Destination: Fresno

2009-09-19T22:28:00.009-05:00

As further proof that Nana is just about the greatest hostess ever in the world, she arranged for the last day of our trip to California to include a visit to my sister Michelle's new house and a birthday party for Jake as an added bonus. Plus, Matt, Lisa and Sarah came down from Antelope so we could visit with them too. WHAT A BLAST! Brett and Lisa joined Kristin, Kenz, Nana, Papa, Adam and I on our trip up there.

Well, what to our surprise when we opened the door and there was Courtney! Nana is the best at surprises and this was no exception. Court ended up being in town because her roommate was making a roadtrip to the Fresno area and so the timing worked out perfectly.

Lucky Elizabeth! She got to see EVEN MORE COUSINS! And what beautiful cousins they are! Here's Bella and Malia kicking off the fun. Aren't they stunning?

Isn't the Belly Dancer so pretty?

Coach took Elizabeth out to the trampoline and showed her how to get some air.

Then all the cousins joined in on the fun. Here we have (L to R) Sarah, Kenz, Bella, Coach, Elizabeth and Malia.

Amidst all the running around to get ready for the pool, Elizabeth decided to make use of the time she had to wait.

And since she was on a roll, she decided to take another crack at napping when we got to the pool. Her dad would hate to make her feel left out of all the fun, so he decided to cat nap right along with her...so she wouldn't feel lonely, of course.

They woke up to find a kitty cat hanging around and Elizabeth just loves anything with fur.

Sarah and Lisa showed off their mad swimming skills. Little Sarah has gotten so big and so cute. She keeps singing her ABC's and dancing and talking. She even let me hold her the minute I walked in and saw her which is a first for me. I considered myself quite honored. Sarah has definitely inherited the Lisonbee hair tendencies...e.g. she hasn't got much and she's about 2. So, I was walking past with Elizabeth in arms while Sarah was in Lisa's arms and she kept pointing at Elizabeth's curls and saying in her impossibly cute baby voice "cute hair, cute hair." She is so cute and such a sweet, fun, good natured baby.

After the pool, we went back to Michelle's to have dinner and celebrate Jake's birthday. Here Bella, Mackenzie, Jake and Carter got the party started.

Check out the birthday boy with his special birthday request: dirt pudding. Michelle's kids don't like cake and for us gluten free folks, that's just fine with us!

It was just fine with Elizabeth who somehow managed to convince us that, even after caving on giving her ice cream, in-n-out french fries and various other treats earlier in the week, she also needed some pudding!

She wears it well, though, so I guess that's some consolation.

As the day wore down, Elizabeth wanted to go upstairs to play WII a bit. Jake and Kenz were good sports.

Elizabeth hadn't had a good nap all day so she was pretty grumpy at times but Jake was so good with her. I was amazed. He just tickled her and talked to her. He sang to her and played little games with her.

I love this picture because you can see just the adoration on her face. It was just sweet because she hadn't seen Jakey since she was just about 4 months old and yet she still just took to him immediately. I love Jake because he has such a soft heart and an easy smile. He's a really sincere, conscientious kid.

And of course there is Uncle Brett who has long been a favorite of the kids. He seriously seems to speak baby. I was particularly excited to see Brett this visit because I wanted Elizabeth to get to know him. He's such a fun kid with a heart of gold and I wanted to make sure she got to see that. Brett didn't disappoint. She was sad to say goodbye to him.

This trip to Cali was one of my best in years. It's funny how a baby makes you see things through a brand new lens. It's also amazing how you love someone immediately if they love your baby. I felt like I loved my family way more than i already did before because of the way they loved my baby. Thanks Nana and Papa for all your hard work and planning so we could have 10 days of absolute bliss. See you soon!

Elizabeth meets the beach.

2009-09-19T21:33:00.005-05:00

It has been my heart's desire to take my baby to the beach. I grew up loving the beach and I thought it was time my little one got a chance to try it out. She did not disappoint. She may look just like her father, but she proved on this day that she is in fact my baby. YAY!

Her first taste of sand.

She wasn't sure at first but then she decided she liked it and went after it in earnest.

(I just love the sand on her diaper bum!)
Her first touch of her toes in the soft wet sand.

Her first dip of her tippy toes in the water.

She liked it so much, she insisted on sitting down so she could be entirely saturated by the water.

And she liked that so much, she insisted on cralwing herself unassisted head first into the sand. She arched her back and wiggled down every time I tried to pick her up so she could race headlong back into the water. It was hilarious! (And quite a proud day for her mama.)

My beautiful beach baby after drying off. You can see it had become quite cloudy that day. Papas had come down with Elizabeth and I into the surf once more before we decided to pack it up and leave and Papas is ever the adventurous one. He kept luring us in further and further into the water and we kept getting colder and colder. He gets so excited about things like that, goofy little things to test how long you can stay in the water or who chickens our first or whatever, that it's impossible not to love him...or follow him into freezing cold water in brisk, cloudy weather. Elizabeth giggled the whole time.

Elizabeth was happy to be wherever her Papas was. He was up early every morning because he had to get ready to go to work. Because we were still on central time, Elizabeth was up super early too. So, we got Papas all to ourselves every morning for a couple of hours to eat breakfast with him, play tiger or monster, help him pick out his ties, read the paper or play with the new cool toys at their house, and send him off to work. During those hours when she had her Papas all to herself and it was all quiet, Elizabeth decided her Papas was pretty fun and a darned good tiger. He loves babies and babies can just sense that.

Anyway, afterwards we went to get ice cream at Tiny's. (love the irony of a place that specializes in ice cream and hoagies and calls itself Tiny's.) Nana and Papa love this place. They make these ridiculously sized soft serve cones all old school style. Nana may or may not have snuck Elizabeth some ice cream. I won't say that that's the primary reason that Elizabeth loves Nana, but I will say that wherever Nana is, Elizabeth knows she'll be well fed and that she'll get away with murder.

Adam may also have shared his ice cream with Elizabeth, but that's unconfirmed at this point. Does he look guilty to you?

Pool Day!

2009-09-19T21:07:00.006-05:00

Nana's house is the best, most baby friendly environment ever known to mankind. And it doesn't hurt that Nana knocks herself out to plan activities that are fun for little ones and big ones alike. Hence, pool day at Nana's. Carrie managed to convince Mark to come with her and the girls. Kristin and Kenz had come in from Arizona to visit and cleared the day to swim with us. Nana never really needs an excuse to be in the sun so we knew she'd be on board. Even Brett and Lisa managed to squeeze us in. In fact, they were good enough to grill up the tastiest lunch I've eaten in a very long time. Let's just say bacon wrapped stuffed hot dogs. All that swimming will make you work up an appetite, you know. Were pleased as punch to have so many swimming buddies.

Do you feel like you are seeing double? Sometimes it amazes me how much she and Adam look alike. It's such a crack up. They're both so cute.

Allegra loved her toy too.

And Kenz was such fun for the girls to play with. They both thought that they had a new best friend. She's just the greatest.

I don't know about you, but it seriously just melts my heart when I see the cousins playing with and loving each other. Elizabeth just loves when she sees Kenzi and it's so cute to me.

And on an unrelated note, we were just randomly shopping and saw cute little matching outfits for Allegra and Elizabeth. We couldn't resist and can you blame us? Look at them in their matchy matchersons. I love seeing babies together.

What!

2009-09-19T21:00:00.003-05:00

Popsicles are healthy.

And if you share them with your two cousins, (well 3 counting Kenz), you cut the calories even more!

Kenz was such a good sport. The poor kid didn't get to eat a single thing in peace while Elizabeth was in town and she wasn't bothered at all. It's no wonder Elizabeth adores Kenz.

Dodger Baseball

2009-09-19T20:25:00.004-05:00

Since Elizabeth did so well at her first minor league game, we thought she might be ready for the Bigs. Off to Dodger Stadium we went with her Nana, Papas, Aunts, Uncles and cousin Kenz.

(Notice the glow on all of us. It was a mere 104 or so outside.)

Kristin, Kenz and Brett were hilarious as usual. I wish we could take them everywhere. I wish they didn't live so far away. Elizabeth loves them.

How great is it when your sister in law is one of your favorite people on the planet? Carrie, would you please move out here?
Please?

Dad showed Elizabeth the view from high atop the city.

Nana showed Elizabeth how to celebrate home run after home run.

Randomly, Papas went missing for over an hour. After Mark, Brett, Adam, Kristin, Kenz and I went searching in fifty million directions, he finally surfaced. It turns out Nana had mentioned that she wanted some garlic fries and so Papas went looking for them without saying anything...sadly, there wasn't a garlic fries stand on the level we were sitting and so he had to go on a wild goose chase and after finally finding the fries stand, Papas the Dodgers had gotten on a roll and so he stopped where he was to watch the rest of the inning so as to not miss the "good part" of the game. I mean, the fries were good. Maybe it was worth all the hullabaloo. The commotion wore Elizabeth out so she took a nap on Nana and Papas so Adam and I could enjoy our Dodger Dog and Nachos. Ah, health food. I dig it.

And we rode off into another perfect sunset, courtesy of LA smog. I love LA.

Thank You, Good Samaritan

2009-08-26T10:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was quite the day. If I told you, you wouldn't believe me and you'd just think I was making it up so let's just say it was not my favorite day and leave it at that. At the end of the fiasco that was Tuesday, I walked in about the time Adam got home from work and was madly recounting the minutia and gesticulating wildly when the doorbell rang. Nobody rings our doorbell. Adam went and opened the door to find a wonderful little lady about my mom's age. She said "is this the Braun house?" Adam affirmed that it was. She held out my wallet and said "I found this in a cart in the grocery store parking lot." She smiled. We thanked her profusely and offered her any number of rewards. She refused, acting as though we were family or something and that it would be absurd to think we owed her something for her kindness, and she laughed and strolled down the walk to her car.

Please note that I had not just run to our corner grocery store. This was a grocery store several miles away that I had swung by to pick up one thing while I was in the neighboring city running a mazillion errands. My fair Good Samaritan drove some 9 miles out of her way to my house to drop off my silly little wallet. Before I had even realized I'd lost it! So thank you, Mrs. Good Samaritan. Thanks for reaffirming my belief that people are genuinely good. Thanks for being all that is good and right about human kind. And thanks to the Giver of all blessings for yet another blessing I didn't deserve.

Aunt Kay's Petting Zoo

2009-08-22T10:35:00.006-05:00

We called my Aunt Kay to tell her that we wanted to come visit while we were in Cali and, as luck would have it, my cousin Stacy was in town with her little girls and my Aunt Kay had planned to have a petting zoo at her house that morning. My mom, my SIL and my two adorable nieces and our little family had the a blast meeting all the baby animals.

Elizabeth and cousin Allegra sat and visited for a while as they waited their turn to pet the animals.

They saw the animals munching on the grass and thought they'd give it a try.

Then Elizabeth told me what she'd learned about Allegra while chatting.

Elizabeth and I got with nature...

When she had had enough of the up close and personal with the animals, Elizabeth got a bird's eye view of the goings on...

Then the real fun began. Elizabeth had her first pony ride. Giddyup!

She and her cousin Aurora had a lovely ride while my SIL Carrie and Adam were in charge of crowd control.

And at the end of it all, they rode off into the sunset together...

Sort of. Nana took our little family off to visit my dad, Papas, at work. He is the director at a senior center and he had so much fun showing Elizabeth off to the doting grandmas and grandpas at his work. Elizabeth loved being shown off too.

After that, we snuck Papas away for an hour at "Las Fuentes" which is the amazing authentic Mexican restaurant in L.A. Let's be honest, Tex-Mex is growing on me but I will never get over the really awesome hole in the wall Mexican food that can only be found in slightly sketchy parts of east L.A. What a killer day!

Happy Birthday, Naughty Monkey

2009-08-18T09:57:00.009-05:00

I can't believe it but today, August 19, you are already a year old. So much has happened in just one short year. In 12 months, you have completely changed our lives and we've never been happier. So, without further ado, 12 months worth of my beautiful baby and the frog that changed my life only a few years before you did. There are more than 12 pics but that's because the first was taken at 19 days old, and there are 2 for December.

we were out of town and without the frog for december so we improvised.

Here's where she got mobile enough to crawl away from the frog, leaving the poor frog out of the frame.

I can't believe how much you've grown. And I can't believe how much we love you. You are better than I could have wished for and more fun that I thought possible. Daddy loves how you squeal. I love to hear you giggle and crack yourself up. We both love to hear you sing to yourself and jabber in your crib first thing in the morning. Never were there two happier or luckier parents. We love you, Baby Elizabeth. Thanks for coming to our family.

Double (or triple) our fun ( or trouble!)

2009-08-16T00:12:00.008-05:00

Elizabeth has a cousin just a month older than she is. Her name is Allegra. She is beautiful and the sweetest baby you could ever hope to meet. Elizabeth loves her and the two girls picked right up where they left off the last time they were together. They started crawling around after one another from the very first minute their little hands and knees hit the ground.

Allegra took the lead by teaching Elizabeth the neat trick of crawling up the stairs. (we don't have stairs at our house.)

They tried to get into mischief together.

They tried to wriggle down from the picture taking chair together.

They tried to wiggle out of Adam's super strong grip together.

And just when we thought the ganging up of babies on moms and dads had stopped when Allegra konked out for a nap and Elizabeth started to show signs of sleepines, Cousin Aurora who is Allegra's adorable and angellic big sister talked Uncle Adam into taking them out to the pool! One grown up vs. two super spirited little ones? I think we know who wins this stand off. Aurora is such a cute, sweet little girl that Adam never had a chance of resisting her, whatever she wanted to talk him into.

Have I mentioned how great Adam is with kids? I love how much he really loves playing with little ones. And I love that they love him too.

Guess What?

2009-08-16T00:01:00.004-05:00

Elizabeth went on her first airplane ride. A three hour long one. WITHOUT SEDATIVES OF ANY KIND!

She actually did a great job right up until the end when she got a little restless.

and while she didn't love sitting still all that time, it was so worth it because at the end, there was Nana and Papa. I don't know who was more excited, Elizabeth or the Nana and Papa.

And so began the great California trip of 2009. Stay tuned. This one was fantastic!

Things I just love

2009-08-15T23:45:00.005-05:00

1. My baby is in love with books. She loves them. She can't wait to read them. She never tires of them. She goes hunting for them if they aren't readily accesible. And I love that she gets all happy when I take her to Border's to look at and read new books. I love that we love books. And that I'm dorky enough to snap pics of her at the bookstore.

2. I finally, after a mazillion years of being stuck on the lonely island of isolation, have family living right here in my very same part of the country. And I love it. I love that we get to see each other whenever we want. No need for plane tickets. No need for adjusting to time zones. We just get to call each other up, decide where we'll meet for dinner that night and go. I love that Elizabeth knows her cousins and they know her. I love that I know how my siblings and their families are doing and that I can see the excited little kids faces each time they lose a tooth or ace a spelling test or learn how to blow kisses. I wish the rest of our families would all move out here, too. (but i'm trying not to be too greedy.)

Indendence Day in Independence

2009-08-15T23:11:00.005-05:00

What's more American than Kansas City ribs on the 4th of July, right? I'll just say that the Brauns make it look good.

Adam had unfortunately gotten himself a rather terrific case of food poisoning the night before so he had to take a pass. Someone had to pick up the slack, though so
check out how Grandpa Jeff is tearing up these ribs. They were just delicious.

Once we had stuffed ourselves, it was off to the Independence Missouri temple site and visitors' center. Somehow Grandpa managed to get Elizabeth to sit still for roughly 6 or 7 minutes straight. (that's a personal record for our wiggle worm.)

Then Elizabeth got to try her hand at living in a cabin, driving the wagon, and rocking in a pioneer style rocking chair.

The visitor's center there was amazing. It was just so cool to be able to put that much of our collective history into perspective. It felt really appropriate to spend the 4th of July learning about another side of our country's history and the sacrifices that people made to ensure our freedoms.

That evening we watched the fireworks on the lawn of the visitor's center. They had a live orchestra there playing music while we waited and during the fireworks show. Elizabeth kept herself entertained by snuggling her baby and trying to eat my hand sanitizer. What a hilarioius picture, huh?

I really really really loved our trip. We never would have gone on a trip to that part of the country if it hadn't been for Jeff having a work assignment out there and I'm so glad it worked out for us that way. Thanks to the Brauns for letting us crash your trip. We couldn't have asked for a better time.

4th of July weekend

2009-08-15T22:48:00.003-05:00

Adam's dad has been working away from home for quite a little while and so we thought we'd take the opportunity of a holiday weekend to go and see him. We packed it up and headed off to Kansas City to meet the Illinois Brauns and have some fun.

With Grandpa's hotel as home base, we had the unusual and wonderful opportunity to go visit all kinds of church history sites. First we went to liberty jail. You can't tell but that's what we are sitting in front of. It's so neat to see part of the original property and to really see in person what that it was like for them while they were in there.

Then off to Far West and the temple site there. It was such a pretty day and it was so nice to get to be out doors for this kind of day. Elizabeth got spoiled all weekend by her grandma, grandpa, aunt and uncle. She was just loving it!

Next we went to Adam Ondi Ahman. If you have never been there, you really have to go. I had always heard that it was a beautiful place but honestly, it was like nothing I've ever seen before. And I know what you're thinking. "It's Missouri." Trust me, it's beautiful. See?

Grandma took such good care of Elizabeth. Elizabeth just cracked up with her and loved to play all the games Grandma taught her.

She also managed to melt her Grandpa. It was such fun to see her get to play with the Illinois members of her fan club!

I have to say, the coolest thing about Adam Ondi Ahman was that it was so peaceful. Elizabeth was sick of being in the car by the time we got there and she was pretty much just screaming. But, when we crossed into Adam Ondi Ahman the crying immediately stopped. Literally. We drove a little further into the valley and got out to hike around and it completely took my breath away. I never wanted to leave. It had just rained and it was so fresh, pure and clean there. Sadly, as we crossed out of the Adam-Ondi-Ahman the crying resumed.

Stay tuned for what we did on the 4th!

Block Party

2009-08-02T00:22:00.006-05:00

The park by our house has this TREMENDOUS party the weekend before 4th of July every year and this year was no exception. It's so much fun. A full county fair type array of horrible for you but delicious tasting foods...

bounce houses a go-go which, as you can see, had Elizabeth completely mezmerized and giddy...

and a live band. Not just any band, mind you. Smashmouth came. That's right. We saw Smashmouth live at the park across the street from our house.

And since we were being groupies at an outdoor concert, we had to go ahead and snap a groupie picture (you know, one that you take holding out your own camera and shooting the photo).

We then walked back to our neighbors house where we watched the incredible, 45 minute long fireworks display which is all set to music. It's so impressive.

I seriously love this little town we live in. It's so much fun to walk over to the park with your family, see your neighbors, ward members and other friends and just chill in the open air. Isn't summer like the greatest thing that ever happened to life?

Elizabeth vs. the Avocado

2009-08-02T00:16:00.003-05:00

At this point, I'm not convinced I can decide who won.

The 7th inning stretch

2009-08-02T00:06:00.003-05:00

On a whim, Adam and I decided we'd try our luck with taking Elizabeth to a baseball game. There's a minor league team that plays not far from our house so we packed her up and went out to the ball park. The only seats left were out in the pavillion and that was just perfect for us. Lots of grass, plenty of room for her to roam around and a nice shady spot to escape (some of) the summer heat.

She particularly enjoyed perusing (read: eating) the program.

You can see behind us that it's a really pretty park. There were tons of other kids in the area we were sitting in so it made for a really relaxed, really fun evening.

Have I mentioned how I absolutely adore summer?

The world's best babysitters

2009-08-01T23:41:00.003-05:00

No, not for Elizabeth. For me. Picture it. Adam is gone on high adventure. Teri's husband is also gone on high adventure. Elizabeth and I were going to go across the street to watch the coolest show ever with Teri and the kids on Wednesday night. I knew a storm was coming but I wasn't paying much attention to it. I saw something on the news that said there were tornadoes touching down outside of my immediate area and that the storm was headed our way but I've seen those warnings millions of times and nothing's happened.

I called my brothers and told them just to get out their candles and stuff so they could be ready in case the power went out and I got my candles out and ready but I didn't do much else to get ready. All the sudden the phone rang. It was Teri.

"Tamara, can you hear the tornado sirens?"

"Uh, no."

"Well, they're going off right now. So, I totally understand if you would rather stay home but you're welcome to ride out the storm at our house if you want some company."

Short pause. "Uh...I guess I'll come over. Why not." (You can see I'm not feeling very perturbed about the storm at this point.)

I start getting Elizabeth's stuff together to go across the street (e.g. pack up her food/ diapers/ etc.) and I have this feeling I should pack a flashligh. Who puts a flashlight in their diaper bag?!? So, I ran to the back of the house to get Elizabeth's blanket and from the back of the house, I hear Elizabeth crying. Not a regular cry. A very unusual cry. So I ran to the front of the house to see what was going on.

I will never, as long as I live, forget what I saw. There, in my entry way, was my little baby crawling toward the front door. Here's where it gets weird. The front door which was closed and locked when I went to get her blanket had blown open and when i looked beyond my baby and out the open door, I saw the sky which was the most erie shade of yellow (yes, the sky was yellow) I have ever seen. In one fell swoop, I looked at her, said "we're out of here", slung on my diaper bag, picked up the baby, closed and locked the door, and sprinted across the street to Teri's house.

By the time I got there, I was pretty well soaked and so was Elizabeth. I knocked on the door and poor Jenna screamed at the sound of the door knocking. Sam opened the door almost before I could finish knocking and before I knew it, Teri, Jenna, Sam, Elizabeth, Cupcake (Jenna's hamster) and I were all cozy in the laundry room which was lit (once the power went out) by the coolest candle I've ever seen. Sam and Jenna told us stories and kept us entertained until the storm passed.

The power was out so we got to hang out at Teri's until the rain, thunder and lightening subsided a bit and we could cross the street and, thanks to my trusty flashlight, see where I was going once I found my way back inside. I'm telling you, Sam and Jenna were the greatest entertainment during the storm. They played games with her, sang her songs, got out toys for her and generally just kept her happy. They even insisted on walking Elizabeth and I home after the fiasco. So thanks to Teri, Jenna and Sam for being such good baby sitters. I would have completely freaked out if it weren't for them. I'm so lucky to have such great neighbors and Elizabeth just adores them too. Our awesome home teacher, Brother Causey, promptly checked in on us as did my brothers so we were well taken care of, but it sure was nice to not have to sit by myself with Elizabeth in our own laundry room. How boring would that have been?

Thank goodness for good friends

2009-08-01T23:27:00.004-05:00

And for indoor play places during Texas summers. So while Elizabeth and I were home alone while Adam was gone on high adventure, Sara had a great idea to go to the mall and let the kids roam around and the indoor playground. Since Elizabeth was crawling and pulling up much faster, I thought she'd have a great time. And she did!

Here she is with Camden. She's so excited to be bigger than somebody and Camden is such a good sport about her trying to poke and paw him to figure him out.

This picture just cracks me up. We were trying SO HARD to get a cute shot of the kids playing together and this one little girl (bless her heart) just kept insisting on being in the shot. We even tryied to distract her and she just would not budge. Anyway, after a million failed attempts, I was just so amused I kind of wanted her in the picture to remind me.

So thanks Blackers for busting us out of our solitary state. We had a blast!

2009-08-01T23:14:00.003-05:00

June 10, 2009 will go down in history. It was Elizabeth's first time in the pool and boy did she love it. Nevermind that I could not get over how cute she looked in her swimsuit. She just loved the water! Here she is just hanging out with her good friend Chandler.

I love how he keeps her so entertained and how much she laughs whenever he's around.

Sara let her borrow this little raft and she just thinks it's the greatest thing ever.

Teri was kind enough to hold her so I could video the moment. I'll spare you all the video but I can promise you that it's pretty hilarious. You should she have seen how she pointed her toes and then ever so gingerly dipped her cute tippy toes in it. She looked skeptical at first but that was only momentary. The minute she got her bearings, she was splashing, giggling and doing her best to completely submerge herself in the water, including trying to wriggle out of my hands to get off the step where she was sitting. We know what this means. Despite the fact that there are no physical similarities of any kind between her and I, I now have proof that she is in fact my child. Woo hoo!

death by a million pecks

2009-06-30T21:20:00.004-05:00

So this morning, I'm out for my morning run. I'm nearing the end and thinking to myself "hmm, I'm feeling better than usual. This is great!" And then I hear this sort of manic chirping from this bird overhead. I look up and see a face that all too closely resembled this:

In about 3 tenths of a second, I realized that face was headed directly for my head. No, I'm completely dead serious. This mad crazy bird was dive bombing me. Total Kamikaze. I practically hit the deck and took crash position. I completely panicked. I mean, in which of my college general eds was I prepared to defend myself from the attacks of a rabid bird. I had no idea what to do. Each time I got up and tried to carry on my way, the attack would resume.

Well, the long story short is after what seemed like an eternity (and in reality was probably 30 seconds or so) I had had enough of trying to outrun the crazy beast and the bird had made it clear that it was not concerned about my best efforts to whack him with my spastic arm waving. This thing was relentless in its pursuit to obliterate me (Yes, I'm aware that the bird was probably like 1 1/4 lbs in total body weight but that is beside point. Did I mention that I'm pretty sure it had rabies?)

I did the only thing I could think of. I threw my Ipod at it. And then my cell phone. Yep, that's right. Both of them, hurled at the maniacal freak. I was certain that that would put an end to the madness. I WAS WRONG!! The bird was just crazy before this move. Now the bird was crazy and mad as all get out. Well, my fight or flight reflex had used up its first option so flight was my only option. I tore out of the park and ran straight home and into my room where I woke Adam up and scared the bejabbers out of him before I could explain that the reason I was hysterical was because we needed to go to the park to reclaim my phone that I was too chicken (no pun intended) to retrieve in the middle of my bird throwdown. Fortunately, he was kind enough to not openly mock me and instead braved the bird (who incidentally did NOT dive bomb him) and reclaimed my phone.

Seriously? Who does this kind of ridiculosity happen to? I wish it had been videotaped. It would be hilarious to see again.

I'm bored.

2009-06-23T11:25:00.003-05:00

What are you guys doing to entertain yourselves this summer during the week? And what about weekends? I keep thinking I can't wait till the weekend to do something super fun and then I realize I have absolutely no creative ideas! Sigh.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:21:00.003-05:00

To the Dads nearest and dearest to our hearts. We love you so very much.

And to the Dad at our house, Elizabeth is one lucky girl to have the Dad that she has. We love you.

I miss the college version of Tamara.

2009-06-16T09:52:00.004-05:00

Being able to stay up until 4 am. Eating nothing but junk food and having no repercussions. Getting away with a cosmetic routine that consisted exclusively of putting on chapstick. Gorging myself on beauty sleep. Being capable of getting a great tan. Where did all of that go?

Fortunately I got a cute hubby and a super fun baby when all that other stuff disappeared. Remarkably they seem to be getting cuter as each day passes. Sure helps to soften the blow.

2009-06-02T21:15:00.005-05:00

The thing that's great about babies is...

they seem to know just how to make every moment priceless. Why didn't anyone ever tell me that babies are this great?

Why we don't hate Scotty P's.

2009-05-28T22:46:00.003-05:00

First off, it's not an In-N-Out poser.

Burgers grilled on an open flame. No weird sauces. No copycat red and white decor. And fries, delicious fries, served no where near the vecinity of a styrofoam cup.

What is not to love? Thanks Scotty P's for giving me a tolerable crutch when In-N-Out is far out of reach. Did I mention real ice cream shakes? Mmmmm. Race you there! (Plus if you run there, then the calories you eat don't count!)

Bliss.

2009-05-13T23:04:00.003-05:00

Adam has once again proved he is raddest human alive. Guess who he's taking me to see in concert?

And the best part? It was a total surprise. I hadn't even mentioned it. Could I be more excited?

I stole Dad's computer to say...

2009-05-10T09:48:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! You are the greatest mom a Shrimp could ask for!

From,

Me (see below)

Blog Crisis Averted.

2009-05-08T14:52:00.002-05:00

Thanks to W.E. Those of you who don't know W.E., you should. And his wife A.A. Long live the As. Thank you!

And to you Mac users out there, come on back to the Dark Side. We won't judge. :)

IS MY BLOG STILL ALL MESSED UP LOOKING?

2009-05-07T19:52:00.002-05:00

When I pull it up on my screen it's clear but I keep getting emails that it's all cryptic encoded html all up in here. What do I do to fix it?

Easter Weekend...part II

2009-04-29T23:24:00.003-05:00

After an awesome Friday at the zoo and hanging out downtown, we weren't sure Saturday could be better...but it was1 Elizabeth was in a fantastic mood.

Why, you ask? Take a close look...

That's right. She's rockin' the bed head. After breakfast, she took a second crack at getting her beauty sleep.

I must say, it was working for her.

So, the secret to day 2 of a happy staycation is lots of naps for the baby. I love how miniature she looks in this tremendous bed. Well, let's not lie. I pretty much love any picture of this kid!

Why I decided to celebrate Good Friday this year...

2009-04-20T23:45:00.007-05:00

Because since I'm no longer a lawyer, it actually turned out to be good. We just went to the zoo, but since it was a weekday and Adam was not at work, we decided it was a celebration.

We hung out with the zebras.

Adam introduced her to the elephants.

Elizabeth tried her hand at being the Elephant Whisperer. (She's been working hard on her elephant sounds.)

The elephants were unresponsive.

So she settled for a ride on the back of the bronze elephant statue.

And then a nap just about the time we got to the exhibit where the otter was doing flipturns that would make Michael Phelps jealous. Those little guys are incredible and quite cute, if I may be so bold.

Good news though. She woke up just in time to see what happens to very naughty monkeys.

Both of them sent to the corner. Let that be a lesson to them.

You know, I've never been one who loves the zoo but this one has changed my mind. It's so shady and well designed and the exhibits allow you to get so close to the animals. Plus, a pretty cute little girl who squeals with delight at any animal that moves is a pretty good draw too. Stay tuned. If Good Friday was good, Saturday was great!

Mission Accomplished

2009-04-14T00:10:00.003-05:00

Phase 1 of teething has concluded. Elizabeth has her first 2 teeth. She's quite proud of herself.

And we have our happy baby back...till the next round of teething. (And Cat, thank you for the headbands. The only person who loves them more than I do is Elizabeth. She thinks she's pretty cute in them.)

And we're back.

2009-04-10T00:37:00.003-05:00

Poor Miss Elizabeth had the flu and was teething at the same time. We saw a lot of this:

and this:

and this.

Pathetic looking, isn't she? Well, she's better now and as soon as my phone reappears (yes, I lost ANOTHER phone), I'll reconnect with society. Stay tuned. :)

Something is very wrong here.

2009-04-04T21:04:00.001-05:00

I went to the library today (e.g. my favorite place on the planet) and came away with nothing. Amidst piles and piles of books, I couldn't find a thing that I wanted to read. So help me out, folks. I need some good suggestions. I don't know if I can take another week of not having a book to read. My brain will rot. Help me!

Good news.

2009-03-26T22:06:00.003-05:00

While I was sick, I had lots of help around the house.

And not just with the laundry. She's also great with windows, dishes and cooking. I don't know what I would have done without her.

Ode to Robitussin

2009-03-24T16:49:00.009-05:00

Robitussin. Sweet Robitussin. Keeper of all who suffer from winter weather chest colds. My how our years together have flown.
As a child, I reluctantly choked you down and shivered at your amazingly hideous flavor. I only took you because my mom made me. But you forgave my insensitivity. my foolishness.
Yes, you willingly stayed with me through years of higher education in the frozen tundra (or the functional equivalent in my mind) where winter lasts forever. always there when i needed you. always that same incredibly bad taste. but i've embraced it now because you're worth it. So worth it.
And now, sweet robitussin, you come again in my time of need. when all forces in the universe seem to conspire against any cough and cold relief. you alone managed to weasel your way onto the pediatrician's list of approved drugs for moms of young babies. you shrewd thing, you.
If only they made slurpees out of you. then would my life be complete.

The Mutual Adoration Society

2009-03-22T11:41:00.004-05:00

The only thing better than an uncle who loves your baby like she were his own, who never tires of playing with her and who magically soothes her just by holding her...

Is knowing your baby loves her uncle right back. Thanks for coming, Jacob. We can't ever get enough of your visits.

I admit it...

2009-03-20T10:15:00.004-05:00

I stayed in my PJs all day long.

Elizabeth was sick and I just couldn't make myself do much of anything but hold her. And guess what?

When she giggles like that, I feel like my day was a complete success even if I didn't manage to get either one of us dressed.

In-N-Out poser #2 exposed...please make it stop.

2009-03-17T17:14:00.006-05:00

Elizabeth and I went to lunch with Sara and Chandler at this place that calls itself Mooyah.

First of all, the overly enthusiastic guy at the register had the audacity to tell us that we were going to forget we ever liked In-n-out after eating their food AND that their fries would blow In-N-Out's fries out of the water. Them are fighting words in my book.

Here is their menu. They have an option to order your food "Mooyah Style." This is the poser way of saying "animal style" but please do not be fooled. Their Mooyah sauce, which said overly enthusiastic guy falsely claimed was a tangy thousand island sauce, was just wrong. Like bordering on inedible.

What's worse is Sara managed to wipe it off of her burger after deciding it was too gross to eat and then declared that what remained of her burger was SO disgusting that the nasty sauce was actually an improvement. MAYDAY! So she moved to the fries...

Again with the styrofoam cup?!?!? STOP IT! I couldn't eat the fries because they fry them in the same oil as their chicken fingers. Yep. You heard me right. Chicken fingers. Does a copycat of In-N-Out have any business serving chicken fingers? In any case, it turns out I wasn't missing anything. Sara said she'd rather eat fries from just about anywhere else. Read: She was decidedly NOT blown away.

And look at this face. Poor Chandler!

You know fastfood is bad when you can't even get a little guy to eat his fries or hot dog. (Oh yes, they serve hot dogs there...that are even indedible to 3 year olds. AHHHHHHHHH!)

Please note that I am about to shamelessly spread a rumor, the veracity of which I have not even attempted to verify. I have heard it now from more that 3 sources so it has evolved from gossip to a full-fledged rumor. Please also note that if you can disprove this rumor, I don't want to know as I am living on hope and hope alone and would prefer to not know if my hope is to be destroyed. And now the rumor...

I hear that In-N-Out is looking to open an undisclosed number of franchises in Texas, one of which is rumored to be going in off of Coit and 121. Please, if there is mercy in this world...

2009-03-17T09:08:00.005-05:00

*click picture to enlarge*

It's ok to laugh. I did.

2009-03-06T11:14:00.007-06:00

Rice Cereal: $2:49.

Peas: $1.99

The look on your baby's face at her first taste of solid food:

Priceless.

They're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

2009-02-28T10:26:00.005-06:00

Every year this time, my Kryptonite returns. It's worse than crack. I just can't resist them. Someone help me.

Oh, yes we did.

2009-02-24T17:57:00.010-06:00

Friday Night. Stake Center. Dim, but not too dim, lights. Line dancing. Break Dancing. The YMCA. You know where I'm going with this...

We totally chaperoned a stake dance for youth conference Friday night! You guys, take a moment to reflect on your Stake Dance memories. Yep, everything that went through your mind just now happened right before our eyes. It was one big giant flashback to my teen years, so why was it so much fun? Cotton Eye Joe and Love Shack just never get old, eh? I'm forgetting...what are the other stake dance classics? Help me out.

Why Valentine's Day is so darned loveable.

2009-02-17T18:10:00.006-06:00

Because it ended with an insane amount of fruit...

fondued in rich, velvety chocolate...

which resulted in delicious leftover goodness that I HAD to eat since Adam went to all that trouble preparing it and I just couldn't bear to hurt his feelings (that's my excuse anyway). Is it wrong to love chocolate more than oxygen? Please say no.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-14T08:58:00.007-06:00

This is for my mom who always made sure we were dressed for every holiday when we were little and now is dressing our next generation. Love you, Mom!

And am I the only one who can't smiling when I see this face? I just can't get enough of her!

Hope everyone has a great day. And remember, you have full license to eat as much chocolate and as many cinnamon hearts as you want today. Live it up!

Uncanny!

2009-02-05T15:36:00.001-06:00

Do these people know me?!? Because I know they are talking about my blog! ;)

In-N-Out poser exposed.

2009-02-03T23:52:00.003-06:00

It all started out when we decided to take Elizabeth to the Galleria for the first time. I love a girl who loves shopping!

We had heard all about this hamburger place at the Galleria that could rival In-N-Out. Since Adam and I have seriously contemplated making a special trip out to Cali just to get a neopolitan shake or a double double, we thought we'd give this more local option a try. The place is called 5 Guys, Burgers and Fries and this is the menu.

Those of you fellow In-N-Out lovers are probably already breaking out into hives at the sight of the menu. Well, before you completely break down, let me say that it's not as bad as you think. The burgers are fresh and they taste good...just not In-N-Out good. Elizabeth was even willing to take one for the team and finish mine for me.

The fries are just fine, I guess. I mean, they come in a styrofoam cup. What is that about? I'm just sayin'.

Fortunately, we made sure that we rushed Elizabeth to In-N-Out immediately upon arriving in Cali for Christmas so she was not fooled by this imposter restaurant. Even though the guy we had take the picture below was clearly not coherent, we thought better of having him retake it since we were interrupting his consumption of a double double and I find that to be a crime of gargantuan proportion.

Anyway, if you're in the neighborhood and like a good burger then go ahead and swing by but for the love, if you hear anyone compare it favorably to In-N-Out, report that person to the proper authorities immediately as he or she is clearly suffering from some sort of altered state of consciousness.

2009-02-03T23:48:00.001-06:00

This is for Sara. It's my 4th pic in my 4th folder and these stunning kiddos are my sisters babies. I happen to think they're adorable. And since I've already tagged some folks, if you want to post your 4th pic in your 4th folder, consider yourself tagged.

Speaking of milestones...

2009-02-02T22:20:00.002-06:00

Elizabeth has also learned to steal the remote from Daddy and find something good on tv...the little show off.

Now, if only her mom could become more proficient at red eye correction, but that's a milestone for another day. :)

Guess who is sitting up all by herself!!!

2009-01-31T17:46:00.003-06:00

Granted, she can only hold it for 10 or 12 seconds so far but we're pretty sure that she's the first baby ever to accomplish such a feat.

I know it looks like the couch is supporting her but if you look close, you can see she's several inches away from the arm of the couch.

Look how hard she's concentrating to hold herself up! This kid cracks me up.

2009-01-29T18:42:00.003-06:00

Five days after we got back from Cali, we packed up again and headed to Illinois to visit the Brauns. Go ahead...ask how the weather was. Cold. I took this shot below on the banks of the Mississippi. I could not believe how the slabs of ice just piled up. Yes, it was freezing but it was also SO beautiful (from inside the warm, warm car).

While in town, we had the opportunity to visit the Nauvoo temple again. This time I got to see different parts of the temple as we were honored to get to do some family file names. What a great way to spend a day!

We finished first and headed over to the visitors' center but Grandma and Grandpa weren't far behind. Look how happy Elizabeth is to see them!

What? What's that? You say that I have a tendency to exaggerate and that it couldn't possibly have been all that cold? Here's proof. I left my water bottle in the car overnight and just look at it. Frozen solid.

In any case, we had SO much fun. The cold weather gave us an excuse to all stay home (from school and work in some cases) and just hang out together. We played board games and the wii, spoiled Elizabeth and ate way too much good food. And, lucky for us, a heat wave hit right before we left. See?

Thanks Illinois Brauns. We had SO much fun and Elizabeth never gets sick of being spoiled with all your attention!

What happens when Daddy does the baby's hair.

2009-01-26T12:37:00.001-06:00

Really? The fauxhawk?

Please help us settle this.

2009-01-24T11:41:00.001-06:00

Dear Reader,

How do you say this:

Is it pronounced "egg" or "aig"?

Or this:

"leg" or "laig"? Adam and I have had some...confusion...shall we say about my way (the right way, incidentally) and his way of saying these words. Please help us out. But only if you agree with me. Thanks for your help.

XOXO,

The Management

Michelle Obama's Inauguration Wardrobe

2009-01-21T16:01:00.004-06:00

Did you love it or hate it? Discuss.**

**please note this is purely an aesthetic commentary on wardrobe which is not intended to be a political commentary. moreover, should you feel compelled to make a political comment with respect to this post, please note that said political commentary will remain the opinion of its author and not a reflection of this blogger as this blogger has vowed to never make a political comment on her blog. :)

Beaten to the punch, again!

2009-01-20T14:39:00.003-06:00

"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end." ~Author Unknown

Of course Tamara beat me to the blog today. She is so much better than I am at making important days feel special. Just one of the many noteworthy and extraordinary characteristics she defines...

The above quote feels apt today, our 2nd Anniversary. When asked if being married for 2 years feels like it has zipped by or if it feels agonizingly long, my honest answer was that it feels like neither. It just feels right. Tamara is what is right for me.

I am so grateful to have been guided to such a fun, caring, laugh-out-loud hilarious woman with endless talents, knowledge, and potential. I remember when she first smiled at me across the room after a church activity one night. I had to turn my head and look behind me to see who on earth she was looking at because I was certain it wasn't me. Luckily there wasn't anyone behind me.

I'll also never forget that one transcendent moment of my life when I lost all ability to breathe--I saw her walk around the corner in her wedding dress for the first time. She is beautiful.

And lastly, I've never seen Elizabeth look at anyone the way she looks at her mom. Of course she'll smile and laugh with just about anybody, but her eyes just seem to dance and sparkle when Tamara is around. She immediately smiles when she hears her voice. How blessed Elizabeth will be for having Tamara as her mother.

So, thank you, Tammy, for sharing all the yesterdays, the todays, and the long walks into the tomorrows with me. Life has never been so full. I love you very much!

2009-01-20T13:29:00.003-06:00

It's that time again! Another anniversary. I seriously can't believe how fast it goes. So, this year with the addition of a baby to our family, I realized I love Adam for a whole new set of reasons.
1. He really never tires of taking care of Elizabeth.
2. He seems to be entirely unrattled by a screaming baby and an exhausted wife. He just assesses the situation and then goes to work taking care of what needs to be done.
3. He has mastered the art of folding miniature baby socks and clothes.
4. There is not a man in America that can swaddle a baby better than he.
5. Even the messiest diaper or the most projectile spit up do not gross him out.
6. Although he was always hilarious, he has proven to be side splitting even at 2 a.m. when it's time to feed the baby.
7. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" is SO much more entertaining when he reads it and does the voices to it.
8. Elizabeth is as taken with Adam's waltzing as I am.
9. He always seems to know when I've had enough or am too exhausted and instinctively just jumps in and takes over.
10. He pretends not to notice that I'm a hideous looking beast 90% of the time and instead pretends that Elizabeth and I are cuter than ever.

I always felt like I was getting away with something while we were planning our wedding. I couldn't believe someone like Adam would like a girl like me. As time goes on, I feel more and more like I've gotten away with something. He gets better every day. He's a constant supply of happy surprises. I don't know how I tricked him into marrying me. He's the greatest and Elizabeth and I are so lucky to have him. All of you who know him know he's pretty great and those who know me well know he'd have to be to put up with me. Love ya, Babe! Happy Anniversary.

Christmas with the Kooks

2009-01-09T20:59:00.005-06:00

This year we went to Cali for Christmas. It was pure unadulterated chaos for 2 weeks and I loved every second of it. We got to stay over at my brother and sister in law's house where Elizabeth got to get acquainted with her newest cousin, only one month her senior (I'll post pictures of that meeting just as soon as my mom or SIL can email them to me.)

Meanwhile, Elizabeth took her first crack at the art of opening presents:

Desperate times call for desperate measures, like eating the wrapping paper.

And here's our little Santa Baby.

Can you stand these tights?

She is clearly thrilled with her ensemble.

It was so fun to watch the cousins enjoy one anther and play.

The girls had a sleepover. Sadly, I was not invited.

But, my sister Courtney proved that the grown up girls can be entertained even without a sleepover...say for example by wearing footie jammies and prancing around with a tiara on.

I admit it, we're spazzes, but we had so much fun. We went to Knott's Berry Farm, watched an all boys pick up baseball game at the park, had sibling and spouse Wii tournaments until way too late at night and ate altogether too much junk food. My parents were amazing at entertaining so many rowdy kids...and the grandkids too. :)

Seriously? But, I mean for reals?

2009-01-07T21:14:00.006-06:00

Ever have one of those days where every last one of your best laid plans quite literally blows up in your face?

Where you get to the point you're so at the end of your rope that all you can do is laugh?

And then 10 more things go wrong and so you just have to throw your hands up in defeat? That was yesterday.

The good news is those days always end and no matter what the next day is like, it is better than the one that just ended. And lucky for me, today was pretty great.

2008-12-08T20:27:00.005-06:00

I vaguely remember promising to post the loads of pics I have from Elizabeth's blessing back in September. At last, here they are (in exquisite detail).

These are a few shots taken by Kate, the same auntie who hand made this beautiful blessing dress with love. Thanks Kate for making our little family's first heirloom.

Here's the proud mom and dad (please note the obvious sleep deprivation on their faces)

We were so spoiled by the generosity of both our large (and ever growing) families that so many of the were able to make the trip out here to Texas to be with us.

Here's when Elizabeth first met her Papas.

And reunited with Auntie Courtney

And first met Aunt Michelle

Her cousins Emma and MacKenzie

Her [honorary] Aunt Marisa

Here's a wonderful example given by her grandpas of how to share...

This is how she greeted her Grandma Braun

And her Uncle John

Her Grandpa Jeff managed to wrestle away from her Papas for some alone time

But that was short lived and then her Uncle Jacob took over

And then, back to her Nana who was there when she was born and hasn't found a good excuse to put her down yet.

Thanks to the Brauns, Lazerbeams, Fairbanks, Edwardsons, the W.E.s and Johnsons for being a part of such a wonderful weekend for us. Elizabeth is blessed to be welcomed into the world by so many people who love her. We love you all right back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-02T19:25:00.007-06:00

Ours was a bit different this year. We were supposed to be over at the Braun's for the holiday but Adam got so busy at work we couldn't leave. I thought it would be sad and lonely but it was so relaxing and wonderful. Look! I actually got to set a proper table! Woohoo! (when does THAT ever happen at my house? Never!) Adam cooked a brilliant turkey (which I have been banned from posting pictures of), we made all the sides just how we like them and we stuffed ourselves silly. You can see even Elizabeth's mouth was watering at the sight of it. And one more thing to be grateful for...Elizabeth let out her first real belly laugh on Thanksgiving Day. I'm having a rough time with the sound but even just seeing it is adorable, isn't it? (The video is long but there is such a cute part at about 30 seconds that I couldn't crop it. Feel free to fast forward.)

Fess up!

2008-11-25T17:25:00.002-06:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

First, take the quiz and tell me which Cullen you are. Next, has anyone seen the movie yet? What did you think?

Hanging out with the folks.

2008-11-21T17:21:00.004-06:00

I don't know why but I find Elizabeth to be impossibly cute in her little Baby Bumbo. Maybe it's because she's just to petite that it looks like her seat is swallowing her. Anyway, it's a good thing she likes it in there because that's where she hangs out every evening while we make dinner and wait for Dad to get home.

She's so curious. She follows every sound she hears. The kitchen is great that way. There are enough sights and sounds in there to keep her entertained forever!

Here's Adam at his favorite time of day. He's all over story time before bed. That's good news for Elizabeth since he's way better at doing Brown Bear's voice than I.

Are you all sick of Elizabeth pictures yet?

I'm a little late.

2008-11-21T17:09:00.005-06:00

Here's Elizabeth in her Halloween costume. Sadly, she was feeling a little under the weather and didn't much feel like smiling but I still thought she was the cutest little witch in the world.

And I just thought this photo was hilarious. We went trick or treating with my nieces and nephew in McKinney. Nate, the littlest, had had enough and so Adam mercifully carried Humpty Dumpty the rest of the way. Isn't that costume a riot?

Farewell, Old Friend

2008-11-09T21:30:00.005-06:00

After just two years, I said good bye to my life as a lawyer. Monday would have been my first day back. Did I feel a twinge of sadness about closing that chapter of my life?

Anyone who knows me well will tell you I've dreamed of being a lawyer since I was tiny. It's the only thing I can ever remember wanting to be and it was everything I thought it would be. And then, from one day to the next, I went from Tamara Braun, Esquire to Mommy. Now my days are filled with things like bathtime...

and naptime

and playing dress up

and my personal favorite...snuggling.

It's the best job I could have ever asked for. It's the job I'd have wished for all my life if I'd known it was an option. Thanks for giving me this promotion, Elizabeth and Adam. I promise I won't let you down!

You'd do it too...

2008-11-05T18:34:00.003-06:00

This is a fun game! Shannon tagged me to post the 5th picture in your "My Pictures" file. Here's mine.

It's my little brother and I with Cosmo at a BYU football game in 2004. That brings back such good memories.

I tag Carrie, Michelle, Carrie and Karlye. Let's see it girls. The 5th picture in your "My Pictures."

Like it's 1999!

2008-11-04T13:18:00.006-06:00

So, I'm a little late but here's the low down on my B-day. Let's just begin by saying look at this awesome cake Adam whipped up! Mmmm. Look how happy it made me!

Adam rounded up my nieces and nephews to help him throw me a surprise party the Saturday before my big day! See? Nothing says love like decorating my SIL's kitchen in crepe paper.

Adam made this perfect double layer birthday cake for me while I was sleeping! I had no idea. Not bad for a first attempt, huh? It makes me hungry all over again just looking at it!

Elizabeth helped me blow out my ample supply of candles.

And here is a table full of my very favorite party girls.

Thanks Adam for yet another perfectly executed party. It was so fun. I couldn't have loved anything more...and yet he still managed to outdo himself on my real birthday! Some girls get all the luck!

Guess what?!?

2008-11-01T21:59:00.002-05:00

I wasn't excited about it...but I did it.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

2008-10-20T15:35:00.003-05:00

Mom, thanks for...

dressing me up real pretty,
reading me fun books,
entertaining me during diaper-changings,
doing all your funny mom voices,
letting me cry on your shoulder,
helping me roll over,
teaching me how silly Dad is,
taking me on long walks,
feeding me the finest foods,
letting me set my own curfew.

I love you so much,

Baby Ellie

Big Fish, Little Fish

2008-10-16T23:27:00.005-05:00

Meet Nate. Nate is Elizabeth's 1 year old cousin. He is the cutest, sweetest, happiest baby ever and he happens to live right by us here in Texas, together with his 3 big sisters and his parents. Honestly, you've never met a more endearing little guy and anyone who's ever met him says so.

We were over at their house the other day and my SIL Katie was good enough to take some pictures of the two babies together. I love this shot because this is how they most often seem...just sort of trying to discover each other and make heads or tails of one another.

And, just for good measure, we did a side by side comparison (notice the symmetry of the postition of their legs!) Look of the size of that boy! Elizabeth has her work cut out for her to achieve that kind of stature but she likes a challenge. Besides, it's good to have lofty goals. Thanks Kate for the pics and thanks Nate for being so dang cheerful! You're the best...both of you!

Let's try a brain teaser...

2008-10-16T18:33:00.002-05:00

First person to solve this gets a warm, fuzzy prize:

Imagine you have a pulley and a rope. On one end of the rope hangs a monkey (holding on with his hands) and on the other end of the rope (on the other side of the pulley) hangs a weight. The monkey and the weight weigh exactly the same amount. The monkey decides it wants to climb the rope. Which direction will the weight go when the monkey climbs?

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-10-07T21:27:00.004-05:00

As I have been accused of being a hermit in the past weeks, I wanted to assure you all that I'm fine and am not hiding from anyone. Quite the contrary, though, Elizabeth is the best toy I've ever had.

However, in full recognition of the fact that I deserve all the ribbing I've been getting for being remiss in my blogging, I thought I'd provide an update of what's been going on at the Casa Braun. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let the following photos do the talking.

Yep, that'd about sum it up. Collapsing in a heap the minute Elizabeth decides to go to sleep. What a great reason to be tired though. The day before Elizabeth was born, I read a quote that said "many speak of the toil and frustration that comes when a new baby is born, but few whisper of the wonder." So, if I'm honest, that's the real reason that I've been lagging with my blogging. I just can't stop staring at the baby. We just LOVE being parents!

Stay tuned, though. Elizabeth was blessed this weekend and so I've go tons of great pics to post.

Party at the Braun house!

2008-09-05T14:51:00.003-05:00

We're having more fun than we can handle. Our good friend Adam Findley came into town and was absolutely magic with his super awesome camera. I am now in possession of an entire CD of adorable candids of my baby like this one. That kid should charge for his work. He's unreal!

And my sister Courtney came into town. I always feel a little cooler for having hung out with her. Elizabeth loved her, as evidenced by the fact that Courtney could get her to go to sleep when Adam and I could not.

We had the best time and can't wait until she comes back at the end of the month. (and yes, for all of you who noticed, she is in fact the younger cuter version of me, but I try not to hate her for that.) :)

Elizabeth also got to meet another of our all time favorite people, Miss Rhia Jean. I'm pretty sure these two will be fast friends and if we have any luck, some of Rhia's awesomeness will rub off on our baby.

Last but not least, Elizabeth got to meet her Uncle Sam. She decided he looked snuggly enough to spit up on right away. Fortunately, Sam didn't seem to mind too much and was no worse for the wear. Besides, she could sense his love for AI I think and that bonded them instantly.

We have been so blessed to be the beneficiaries of so much kindness and visits from people who had to travel quite a ways to get here. Thanks for all your help. It's too bad that it seems you get the most help at a time in your life when you have the least time to appropriately thank those who give it or are willing to give it, but we'll catch up one of these days I hope! (I will, won't I?)

More Baby Elizabeth Pics

2008-08-29T13:44:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm officially a nerd magic parent. I took an inane number of pictures of Elizabeth after her first bath at home last week. These will of course be kept in the file for blackmail with respect to future dates but in the meantime, why not post them on the internet for her fans far and wide to see?

Turns out my baby hates the bath! Could she really be mine if she hates water? I'm a bit perturbed. I'm hoping its just a phase.

She felt much better once we put her in her pretty dress and got a bow in her (lack of) hair.

It's amazing. These pics are only a few days old but her little face has already changed so much! Don't be alarmed, by the way. The scratches all over her face were just from her tantrum while she was splishing and splashing. They went away just a few minutes later. It was a pretty impressive tantrum. Perhaps that's the proof that she's my baby. My mom HAD to wish me one just like me, didn't she!!!

Why every girl needs her mom...

2008-08-28T12:52:00.007-05:00

Because, aside from your husband, only your mom would stay with you all night in the hospital and let you know when to accept the drugs the nurse is trying to give you.

Because she can explain what the devil the nurse just said when she comes in and smacks an oxygen mask on you and mutters something about some strip and some numbers...

Because she'll tell you your baby is beautiful even when she's still got a cone head and looks a little bit slimey.

Because she'll hold your baby all night long while you sleep and make it look easy...and when you wake up in the morning, your baby will have been so thrilled to chill with Nana, she doesn't even want to come back to you!

Because she finds great ways to distract you from being miserable and overdue...like frosty chocolate shakes and other junk foods to delight the palate.

Because even as you drop her off at the airport, she'll share a few more priceless tips for caring for a baby and...more importantly, she'll promise to come back in 3 weeks and check on you and the baby.

Thanks for coming mom. Thanks for 2 weeks of pure unadulterated girl time and thanks for coming back in 3 weeks. Adam, Ellie and I are all counting the days!

At long last (and I promise, it was worth the wait)

2008-08-21T20:43:00.000-05:00

More pictures of Baby Braun! Here she is with her bright eyes after I got her all dressed up and ready to bust loose of the hospital.

I handed her to Daddy for one last shot before we left the hospital so he could show off her adorable pink outfit and her super soft white blankey from Aunt Yetty. Then Daddy ran downstairs to pull the car around while we waited for a call from our room.

But she got tired of waiting and assumed her now trademark position of sleeping with her pouty shaped mouth wide open.

At long last, Daddy put her in her car seat and strapped her in tight and we were off on our journey home. And here we are at the end of a tumultous three days and the beginning of a bunch of good times together, just Mommy, Daddy and Baby Elizabeth Rose (but her very closest of friends call her Ellie).

And baby makes three.

2008-08-20T21:28:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone! Here is your official sneak peak of the beautiful, if nameless, Baby Braun. We've not been so great about taking pictures of her post delivery and since neither the baby or I dressed for the occasion, we've had to forego posting pictures. But, I caught this shot during her nap this afternoon so I thought I'd post it as a teaser with the promise of more pictures in the coming days.

I was so fortunate that my mom came to be with me during labor and the week before and after delivery. She is such a calming influence and, as if having 9 children weren't preparation enough, she's been a labor and delivery nurse for the past 10 years. Here she is right by the baby warmer where we strategically placed her so she could make sure to scope out the instruments and set up to ensure quality control. She was our own walking encyclopedia and kept us motivated and informed during the whole process. She proved to be invaluable to those of us in the room who don't speak nurse. :)

And here's the proud dad. Just look at the look on his face. You can't fake excitement like that. He was unbelievable. If he was nervous at all, it sure didn't show. He was in rare form and made sure to keep us laughing. I am so squeamish but he did not get rattled by a single part of the process. See? I've got proof! Here he is cutting the cord.

Anyway, for those of you dissatisfied with the quantity of pictures posted thus far, I hereby promise to thoroughly bombard you with an untoward number of pictures of her in the coming days. We can't stop staring at her so it's just a matter of time before it occurs to us take pictures of our adorable little bundle. Thanks everyone for your excitement for us and for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf. We are certainly thankful and humbled by your kindness.

The best day of our lives

2008-08-20T00:33:00.002-05:00

We welcomed our baby girl into the world on 8-19-08 at 5:31pm. Our little squirt weighs in at 7lbs 13oz and stands a massive 20.75inches tall. Both mom and baby are doing great!!

We don't have a name just yet, but look for that revelation in a soon-to-come post. Also, the doting mother of this bundle of joy vetoed the pics I was planning to post tonight, so you might check back tomorrow to see if we've come up with anything to show the world.

Thanks so much for all the prayers and support. We truly have been blessed tremendously throughout this pregnancy.

And we highly recommend Medical Center of Plano. As a very nervous husband, I couldn't have been blessed with better care for my wife and (now) new child.