My Marie

Marie you are now seven months old. I think you are about five months in this photo. You are learning and changing everyday, way too fast. I am excited for you to grow and learn(and to wear some of those outfits you still can't fit into.) But for the most part I am having a hard time with you getting so big. You have been such a fun baby. Always smiling and bouncing your little chubby legs. You love to watch your brothers and we can usually get a lot of smiles from you when we play peek a boo or daddy pretends to hit himself in the head. I will never forget how hard you laughed in the car watching Nathan hit himself in the head. You bring so much joy into this family. Lately you have been sticking your little tongue out ALL THE TIME!! You just love your tongue and you love to talk with it sticking out. In church you are getting pretty loud. You sit on my lap and hum the same noise at very high levels. It is a content sound but it is a loud sound. Yesterday I put your binky in your mouth and you just took it out and kept doing it. You are starting to LOVE your "best friend"(little blanket with the bunny head on it.) You get so excited when I hand it too you at nap time. You are also loving your bath. You have always enjoyed baths but I think you could just sit in it and kick those legs and play with your cup, all day long. I have really enjoyed nursing you lately and I love how softly you play with my hair while you are eating. Today when I was nursing you, you kept stopping and smiling and making your funny little fake laugh that almost sounds like a cough. I love to squeeze your chubby legs and I love to kiss your soft cheeks. You love touching people's faces right now and you don't take too long to warm up to those around you. You are so easy going and so pleasant to be around and I don't think I have ever met anything cuter than you. You make Daddy's whole day when you smile at him as soon as you see him walk through the door. Sometimes he hasn't even looked at you yet, and you are already looking at him smiling. It just brightens him up after a long day at work. Your brothers never seem jelous of the attention we all shower you with, they love to play with you just as much as we do. Although I am in NO hurry for you to grow up, I am excited to play dolls, dress ups, and house with you. I think we will have fun playing together. You are such a little angel and I love you even more everyday.

Photo shoot 2011

I love having pictures and HATE getting them done. I hate scheduling them. Worrying about weather, clothing, naps, getting ready, and having the time. It is on the top of my list of STRESS FULL activities. We never pay to have them done and usually put all the pressure on someone else (this year my brother Ryan.) I asked him to do it on Thanksgiving since I new Matt would not be working and we would all be there together. Of course we showed up late, everyone was starving and ready to eat and then we said "can you all hold on a minute while we go have a photography session." We wanted are pictures taken before way ate a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner.....so we would feel a little more comfortable in our clothes! No one complained but I am sure they were not happy.

Marie was obviously not happy, which is pretty rare for her. She was sooo tired. It was a little windy and I gave Ryan like 10 minutes to do it all. I wish we would have had more time to do more shots, but I think he did a great job considering the circumstances. I am not picky about pictures anyway, I like the more real candid shots, not so photoshoppy anyway. Thanks Ryan for pulling through. Next year we will show up a little earlier.......if you are still willing?

100 Years Young!!

Grandma Rounds turned 100 years old in November. What a celebration we had. I have only known Grandma Rounds since she has been in her 90's(about 10 years.) I remember when Matt and I first started dating. I would go home to Sandy a lot on the weekends when attending school at USU. Lucky for us Matthew was really close to his aunt and uncle who lived near my parents. So when I would go home he would come too, since he had a place to stay. I remember Grandma Rounds being there. She stayed there during the winters. She would grab all his laundry and start getting it done. She is a WORKER. She loves to be busy and she is always trying to serve others. You can NOT eat a meal with her without her asking at least 5 times if you need anything else. As soon as the meal is over she is the first one up ready to do the dishes and clean the kitchen. She is always helping. I have always known her to have good health and a lot of energy. It wasn't until this last year that she had to go on oxygen and has had a few health issues. Often times she would scare me with how much she wanted to help. Recently when moving from Matt's moms house into our own place Grandma Rounds just HAD to be a part of the process. We tried to talk her out of it, but she is a little stubborn. She would go downstairs and lift boxes of canned food. Then carry it up the stairs and outside to the car. I thought I would have a heart attack that day. I don't think she even realizes she is 100 years old.

What I love most about Grandma Rounds is the love she has had for my children. I remember when the twins were born and she came to the hospital. She was just full of excitement. Every time we would see her after that she would always ask to hold the babies and help us. Recently with the birth of Marie I have seen so much joy in her when she is around that little girl. You would think Marie was her favorite in the whole world. She told Matt's mom a few nights ago that she woke in the middle of the night and all she could see was Marie's little face. She just loves her and can't stop talking about how sweet she is. She is always wanting to hold her. Grandma is always happiest when she is around babies and children. I will never forget her telling me that she would be happy to watch Marie for me if I needed to go anywhere. She is amazing.

Grandma was so happy at her party. She loves to be around people and visiting others seems to be her favorite thing to do. I will always remember the night before her party. She was arguing with Matthew about who should sit down in the only available chair. Obviously Matt was not going to leave his 100 year old grandma standing but she was not about to sit down. In the middle of her telling Matt to sit down he said "Grandma if you sit down you can hold the baby." She stopped mid sentence and said "OOHHH OK!" It was so cute. She just loves to hold baby Marie.

We are all so lucky to have Grandma Rounds in our lives. She will always be a great example of charity and hard work. She has gone through many trials in her life, but she just keeps moving forward. She is a loving, kind, and generous person(always sticking dollar bills in my hand.) I feel so blessed that she has been around for the birth of all of my children.

The first picture in this post is of Grandma Rounds at our wedding. She just looks beautiful and I am so thankful she was there.

We love you Grandma Lorz!! Happy 100th Birthday!!!

Friends.

I think I have the cutest friends in the world. No, I do. So blessed to have friends that have been there through it all. I can leave on a mission come back, still the same. Go to Florida for three years, come back...still the same. Pretty postive that we will still be best of friends for the rest of our lives. It all started from our elementarty days, some friendships started from preschool, and some even before that. WOW!! Not a lot of people can keep friends that long. We can and we always will. Can't wait for our Christmas parties when we roll up in our vans equipped for our wheelchairs and walkers. K..... I can wait for that, but you know what I mean.

Let's not forget those special friends not pictured. Alayna, Heather, and Staci. You were dearly missed. The great thing about us though, is it doesn't matter, we will always catch up with each other again at some point. Were good like that.

Nothing but the REAL thing.

Thanksgiving at my parents house is celebrated by everyone every other year. This year was especially fun with their basement finished and the fun little "Noel Nook" for the kids to play and have their tea parties.

We always celebrate the November birthdays which include me and my sister Natalie, as well as my brother Ed. We all have a fantastic cake as well as all the traditional Thanksgiving pies.

Matt had fun playing video games with my nephews and pool with my dad. I had fun chatting with my sisters.

Marie had her first taste of REAL whipped cream. It's always the real thing in this household, and soooo good. I think she will take after her mother and have a true love for whipping cream.

Overall it was a great holiday. Everything a Thanksgiving should be. How thankful I am this year for so many things. The simple pleasures of life that come from having a new baby around the house and two sweet boys who say things like "thank you mom for making me homemade bread, your the best mom in the whole world." Hugs and kisses, and lots of " I love you's." These are the blessings that make all the other worries of the world seem really insignificant.