Guess who is sitting up all by herself!!!

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.

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.

Really? The fauxhawk?

Please help us settle this.

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

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!

"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!

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

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?

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.