Coming Soon

I've been incredibly busy with family, school and daily living. But, I promise to soon post some video of MJ. She does a myriad of animal imitations, including elephant, sheep, cow, pig, lion, dog, cat and monkey to name a few. She also will jump, kick, laugh, hug, kiss and wave on command. Stay posted...

Birthday Girl

I'm a little late blogging about this... but it's been pretty hectic with finals, going back to work full time and everyone's birthdays.

MJ's first birthday was a smashing success. It was a bug theme. We had ladybug and butterfly cupcakes. And, I made a smash cake of a ladybug just for MJ to enjoy. At first she was a little tentative about eating the cake, but after tasting the icing, she dove right in, grabbing handfuls and shoving them in her mouth.

She also enjoyed opening all of her presents. It was hard getting her to maintain interest in opening rather than playing with her other presents. I think her favorite part of the day was riding home in the car from the store with all of her balloons. She was giggling and playing the whole way.

I can't beleive my baby girl is one! She has grown up way too fast. She is now getting a lot more confident with walking and will take several steps before losing her balance. She's suprised us a few times by making it all the way across the living room.

MJ enjoys reading books, singing songs and listening to music, and making constant messes. Some of her favorite foods are yogurt, blueberries, cheese and eggs. She will try to eat just about anything that Jared and I have and really enjoys sharing her food with us too. MJ also likes to make funny faces and give hugs and kisses. She's such a joy to have around. We're thouroughly looking forward to continuing to watch her grow, learn and mature.

We celebrated Jared's birthday recently too. For hating birthdays, I think he still had a good one. Next year we'll have to throw a big party for his 30th.

School is now over for the semester. I suprisingly got an A- in my Business Statistics course. Jared did well, too. We have a 4 week break between semesters before summer semester starts. But, I'm on track to finish my BS in Marketing in Spring 2011- only one more year!

Jared is now working for Ruesch Motorsports as a Web Programmer. He feels he's in way over his head, but is really enjoying the work and is learning a lot. I am working for the Volunteer Center of Iron County. I'll be working full time during the summer and then cut back to part time once Fall semester starts. I'm hoping to use some marketing skills in this position and really grow the program I'm working with.

All in all, things have been pretty good. We're as busy as ever, but there are so many things to enjoy and be thankful for.

Easter & the Park

Our Easter was pretty uneventful. Jared and I had fun coloring the eggs and then later hiding them for MJ. MJ was a champ during the egg hunt. She was very interested in finding the eggs and then promptly throwing them on the floor. It took me about 25 shots to get one of MJ with her Easter eggs. She does not like to sit still.


Later on Sunday, we went to my mom's house for a delicious dinner. I strongly am against ham, so my wonderful mom made us a crown roast. It was heavenly. The Easter bunny left MJ a basket of goodies at my mom's house too! The next day, before I had a chance to put the second basket away, MJ made huge mess with all the Easter grass.


MJ is developing quite the little personality and sense of humor. She thinks she is soooo hilarious and cracks up at her own antics. It's really hard to discipline her when she's laughing her head off.
This past weekend, Jared's parents visited. We had a relaxing weekend and took MJ to the park for the first time, since the weather was somewhat cooperating. MJ had an absolute blast. She was giddy about the trip for days afterwards. She especially enjoyed crawling through the tunnel and going on the swings. Mostly, she just loves spending time outside. Everyday she insists on going for a walk in her stroller. We might be doing something right!

We can't beleive that MJ is almost a year old!! We'll be having a birthday bash for her next Saturday, April 17. Stay tuned for updates. It's going to be a ton of fun.

Blanket

Just a little blanket I made as a gift for MJ's first birthday. It took me two tries, but I think it turned out alright. The first one fell to pieces when I washed it- not really sure why.

11 Months Old

As of Monday, MJ will be 11 months old. Time to get serious about planning her first birthday party! I'm thinking of having a bug theme. I found a really cute idea for ladybug and butterfly cupcakes. I would also like to make MJ her own smash cake. But, I'm having difficulties finding a good bug look and a reduced sugar recipe. (I avoid giving MJ any added sugar, attempting to set her off on a healthy start with food. And, I don't want to give her a sugar-laden cake that will probably make her sick with all it's sweetness.) Any ideas or recipes?

MJ has taken two independent steps. And, she has spoken a few words. She says "ball" and "up". But, the only time she says "up" when she wants to climb up the stairs. She also imitates a variety of animal sounds including barking like a dog, making an elephant sounds and roaring. She is the cutest thing in the whole world! And, no, I'm not biased.

Crawling Maniac

After months of only pushing herself backward, MJ one day decided to crawl forward and now she's unstoppable! I suspected that she was going to skip over crawling all together and go straight to walking, since that's what she's interested in. For weeks all she wanted to do was pull herself up and cruise along the furniture. It really surprised us all around when she crawled right across the room. Now we're in a mad panic to baby proof our house. We've been scoping out and comparing safety gates for a while. But, when we went to Target last weekend, there were none left in store. I ordered some online, but with all the snow back East, they're delayed until next Tuesday! MJ in the mean time has taken quite an interest in the stairs and it's a constant fight to keep her away from them. Several times I've barely caught her before she tumbled head first down the flight of stairs. She's very adept at climbing the stairs too. She can get about halfway up before she tires of it.

MJ also has quite an interest in the dog's food. We only feed Loki once a day, but the dog doesn't chow it all down quickly. Instead Loki goes back and forth from the bowl in the kitchen to the living room and sometimes she won't eat her food at all. MJ watches the dog eating and thinks that the food is for her too. MJ also likes to bark at our dog- or any others that she sees whether it be on tv, in a book or on the street.
For Valentine's day we'll be (hopefully) driving to Kanab to eat at Escobar's. I know... we're real romantics! But, it is pretty much the best Mexican food place in existence.
And, MJ will be 10 months old on Monday!! I've already started to plan her 1st birthday. It will be awesome.

New Painting

Here's a pic of my latest paintings. I've been meaning to do some for MJ's room since she was born. I finally got some time to work on them at the Christmas break. Forgive the crookedness... Jared and I can't hang pictures very well and I also made the canvases myself.