Family Pictures 2009

Enjoy our new family pictures! It was definitely exhausting getting our sweet little Haylee to cooperate, but we did end up with some amazing photos. Our photographer, Janelle Bird with Labella Photography is the best! I am so happy with how they turned out!

We tried everything possible to keep Haylee sitting in one place for more than two minutes at a time. Pearls seemed to do the trick!

While Haylee was busy crawling all over the studio, we decided to take a few shots of just the two of us!

Janelle took some "on-the-move" shots because Haylee did not want to sit still. This one turned out amazing! It is actually one of my favorites.

I am a little upset with myself that I did not send out Christmas cards this year. I procrastinated like always. I put this photo session together in one week, outfits and all. I was so lucky Janelle was able to fit us in at the last minute. So consider this our Christmas greeting.
Merry Christmas! May your holidays be merry and bright!

Haylee is now 8 months old! Time is going so fast and she is growing and changing so much! I did not even do a post when she turned 7 months and by the time I got around to it, she was turning 8 months. Well, here is a little update and some pictures .... FINALLY!

Haylee started scooting on November 9th. She is getting around quite nicely as a matter of fact. I wouldn't call it crawling because she is not up on her knees. She really just pulls her body with her hands and pushed with her feet. She is everywhere and getting into everything!

She just started moving one night when Rich laid down his shiny watch on the floor and Haylee was determined to get it. We were so proud of her!

Don't worry! We let her play with the watch as soon as she achieved her goal.

Haylee is such a happy baby! She is always smiling and loves to laugh. If you look close, you can see her two top teeth. Yup! That's right! Haylee had a total of four teeth just after turning 7 months of age. Don't even try and feel for other teeth because this little one bites!

Haylee loves her Daddy! She says "DaddaDaddaDadda...". Sometimes she gets out a little "MommaMommaMomma" too! Rich thinks she says "Dadda" more because she loves him more, but I reassure him that she is just blabbering and has no idea what she is saying. He disagrees of course!

This is Haylee up at the cabin. She loves to play with pill bottles. She just shakes them and loves to hear the noise she is creating. It actually looks bad that I let her play with them, but don't worry. I don't leave her unattended with them and as of right now, she can not get the lids off.

I leave the room for two seconds and come back to find this! My little monster got into the Wii! It is definitely time to do some more child-proofing around the house!

She was very upset when I took it away! She had fun while it lasted!

Turkey Day 2009

Sorry no pictures on this post either! I took the camera with us on Thanksgiving and kept trying to take pictures and the stupid camera would not work. Well, come to find out (and a little late I might add) the battery was dead! I didn't even think of that because it would turn on, it just would not take a picture. Rich told me once the day was over. Maybe I am just blonde! :)

Anyways! We had a great day! It was just me and Haylee driving to Nicole's this year. Sadly, Rich had to work. Actually, I was not that bummed about it because he was paid double to sit around and play cards all day. He joined us around four. Dinner with the in-laws was delicious! I made my yams like always and they were a hit! I was a little bummed that there were not any home-made rolls this year. Not even Rhodes! I do understand that it is very stressful making a Thanksgiving dinner, but come on! It is so crazy how long it takes to prepare for the meal and it only takes about 10 minutes to stuff ourselves. That is exactly what we did! Haylee loved the mashed potatoes and yams. I could not feed her fast enough. After dinner, all of the kiddies napped and everyone else watched Four Christmases. That is a funny one! I totally recommend it.

I really love Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays. I feel like it kind of gets a little jipped because it seems like we go from Halloween straight to Christmas, but really it is a special holiday. It is all about family and nothing else. There are no gifts involved and no pressure for any. It is a relaxing day to just be with loved ones. I am so grateful for my family. Family is all we have. It is the most valuable thing ever. I would be lost with out them! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to list some things I am most grateful for:

*My wonderful husband, Rich
*My precious angel, Haylee
*Family
*The Gospel
*Good Health
*Our Home
*Employment
*Health Insurance

More Bad News...

Around 2 am this morning I received a text from my best friend, Lindsey, informing me that her brother-in-law, Aaron Thomas Nemelka, had been shot and killed during a murdering rampage at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday. I was overwhelmed with sadness and grief for Aaron who lost his life so young and for his family he left behind. Please take a moment today to remember and honor those who lost their lives yesterday and for all of the other soldiers who are fighting for our freedom. I am truly grateful for them and the risk they take everyday for me and my family. My heart goes out to the Nemelka family. You are in my thoughts and prayers at this time of need and comfort. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well. Click on the link below to read the entire story.

ksl.com - West Jordan man among those killed in Fort Hood, Texas

ksl.com - Neighbor: Fort Hood suspect emptied his apartment

A Prayer for Mary

"We said goodbye to Neil last night for this time on earth. It was extremely difficult and comforting at the same time. Again thank you all for your love and support. Please continue to pray for me and my children. We have felt your prayers and we will need them in the days to come. Love, Mary" - from Mary's Facebook
"We said goodbye to our dad tonight. We feel peace and know our heavenly father is here with us. We know he is in a better place and that we will feel his presence with us throughout our lives. Please continue to pray for our family at this time, we love and appreciate all of you. We know we will see him again." - from Mary's daughter's Facebook
On November 4, 2009, Mary said goodbye to her sweet husband. Sadly, he passed away due to complications that began with the flu. Mary works at Cogent Health with me. I do not work directly with her, but do see her on occasion. She has grown extremely close with my good friend, Kalee. It is so easy to be sad when this happens so close to home. My heart goes out to Mary and her family during this time of grief. Please pray for them and for all other families going through hard times during this horrible flu season. Please take care of yourselves and go to the doctor immediately when symptoms worsen or a fever begins. This flu hits hard and it must be caught quick.
You are in my prayers Mary! We all love you and hope you will be comforted in this time of need.

My Little Monster's First Halloween 2009

Haylee was a pink monster for Halloween. I was very proud of her for keeping the hat on her head. She had to get in and out of her costume about five times and hated every minute of it, but once it was on she was ok. I must admit, there was a grin on her face from ear to ear when it came off. We had to make a special stop at Grandma and Grandpa's to take pictures and then it was off to the party at Aunt Nicole's! Her costume was perfect for keeping her warm while trick-or-treating around Nicole's neighborhood with all of Haylee's cousins Halloween night. Nicole made some yummy homemade chile to warm us up when we were done. It was a fun Halloween!

I had a bow custom made to match her costume because I did not think she would keep her hat on. Actually, she only wore the bow for me to take a picture because I am such a dork and camera-happy. Good thing it is a cute bow that will go with some of her other outfits.

Haylee and her Daddy came and saw me at work on Friday. She was the life of the party! Everyone loved her costume. Everyone's kids came to treat-or-treat around the office. All of the kids were so dang cute in their costumes. I dressed up as a cowgirl last minute. I tried to be a bag of jelly beans, but that did not work out so great. After spending nearly two hours trying to melt two plastic bags together, we realized I looked more like a bag of trash than a bag of jelly beans. Thanks Rich for helping me anyways!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Haylee!

Giggling at Daddy! She really is wickedly adorable!

Haylee at 6 Months

Look at my teeth everybody!

Haylee's two bottom teeth popped through last month. It was not a fun process, but once they broke the surface Haylee was back to her normal self. The bad part ... it's not over, but just the beginning!

We went to the doctor today for Haylee's 6 month check up. She is doing great and is generally healthy. She weighs 14 pounds, 4 ounces and is 26 inches tall. Her weight is still pretty low, but she jumped up in height again so the doctor was not concerned. She is still in 3-6 month clothes and only a 1-2 diaper size. She had three shots today. I felt so bad for her! She immediately started screaming and got the biggest tears! She calmed down when I was able to pick her up and then started crying again when she met gazes with the nurse! It was funny! She knew exactly who hurt her. Her development is right on track if not a little ahead. Haylee has discovered her tongue these past few days. It is so cute. She is constantly playing with it and sticking it out. She also wants to touch and play with everyone else's tongue when they stick it out at her. She has gotten very vocal and is always giggling. She will belt out high-pitched screams and squeals, but they have a happy tone to them. She is developing a bit of separation anxiety and will cry when I leave the room. I am not going to lie, I kind of like it. I know it's bad to put her in front of the TV, but she loves to watch Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately, it only entertains her for a little bit. She enjoys being read to and holds the book just how it is suppose to be held and will even turn the pages. She will look at books for forever! She loves them. She is back on track with her sleeping schedule since getting her two bottom teeth and getting over her cold. She is taking three naps during the day and sleeping through the night. I have figured out that it is imperative that we go to bed at the same time every night. We have to start bedtime off with a warm bath between 8:00 and 8:30 followed by a cereal bottle. If it is a minute past 9:00 she is overtired and she won't fall asleep until 10 and we even take the risk of her waking in the middle of the night. Before 9, it takes 15 minutes. I have really figured out how important schedules are. Her schedule would be a little stricter if I didn't work or if she didn't have as many babysitters. She still eats every 3-4 hours and doesn't spend more than 2 1/2hours awake at a time. That is how her schedule goes for the most part. I recently purchased a bumbo and she loves it! It is really helping her and strengthening her to sit on her own. She is so close now. She absolutely loves sweet potatoes and bananas! She reaches for all food actually. She is really grabbing at everything these days. I am really loving her age right now. It is so fun watching her development and figuring things out. She is my little princess and I could not imagine life without her. I love you Haylee!

I love sitting up!