Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Kate!

It's hard to believe that our baby girl just turned 1!  It seems like yesterday that we were patiently awaiting her arrival, but at the same time it feels like she has been a part of our family forever.  What a year this has been Kate, we couldn't even begin to imagine our family without you...

Here you are waiting for presents and breakfast.

You started opening your presents, but Tanner got impatient, so...

He finished the job.

At least he let you admire the new toys before he opened and played with them all.

I think these pictures are hilarious.  I try not to give my babies any sugar until they turn 1.  The expression on Kate's face says it all - SHE LOVED IT!!  And couldn't get enough.

Later that day, we went and had birthday cake at Matt's parents house.  Kate thought the candle was so pretty and...

...Really wanted to grab it.  Mommy helped her blow out the candles so she wouldn't burn her hand.

When Tanner got his first birthday cake, he was afraid of it, and we really had to coax him to try it out.  Kate seemed to know right off the bat that this was something yummy that she could eat.

I love her feet in this picture, as she was trying that first bite, you could see she enjoyed it all the way down to her toes!

YUM!!

Here's some of my favorites with her and the cake.  She loved it!

Of course chocolate cake is quite messy, so she got a bath in Nana's sink right away.

We love you so much Kate!  You have so much spunk and charisma, which means you are constantly exploring and on the go.  I love your "conversations" of gibberish that go on for like 5 minutes.  I love the way you "reorganize" every drawer and cupboard you can get into.  I love your sweet smile and your infectious laugh.  I love the way you try to do everything your big brother does.  I love your sense of adventure, and your fearlessness to try anything.  You are truly a delight, and you make your father and I smile everyday.  

Happy Easter!

(I know this is VERY late, but I wanted to get these up here so my parents could see them...they have been very patiently waiting)

Tanner is taking his Easter Egg dying activity very seriously!

Pulling the orange egg out of the dye.

Showing me his favorite egg. I drew polka-dots on this one and he thought is was the coolest thing!

Tanner and Daddy goofing off.

What started as a simple activity with the kids turned into a big project as the cookie recipe I made produced about 6 dozen cookies, and then my inner artist came out and wouldn't let me just slap the frosting on. It was a lot of fun, it just took a long time.

Skiing with Alan

One of my boys finally took the plunge into backcountry skiing with the blessing of his wife (nice call Ashley!). This is the first of many trips to come over the next 50 years or so, basically until we can't walk anymore. This stuff is just too good!

Happy 6 years!

Looking at this picture makes me smile.

We just celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 6 years. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful companion who is so loving and supportive of me, who does so much for me and our family. I don't know very many people who work as hard as you do at work and then come home and equal your efforts at home. You are my dream come true, and I love you so much! I feel so blessed to have you babe!

Meg tagged me with this fun relationship questionnaire. I thought it was the perfect thing to do for an anniversary...

What's his name:   Matthew Douglas J…

How long have we been together?  Married for 6 years, exactly.

How long did you date?  We dated for a little over 8 months.

Who eats more?   Me, definitely me. I eat all the time, and I have to remind myself that I’ve already eaten and that I am not hungry! Why do I have to love food so much. But, if Matt hasn’t eaten all day (which he does more often then not), he can really pack it away.

Who said "I love you" first?   Matt, I still remember it like it was yesterday. We’d been dating a few months, and we were standing outside my apartment door, he was hugging me, and he told me he loved me. It was very sweet.

Who's taller?   Matt, unless I wear REALLY tall shoes, which I don't usually, because I don't want to be taller.

Who can sing better?   Matt has a great voice, I love to listen to him sing. But he would say I sing better.

Who's smarter?   Matt, without a doubt. He is so smart, intelligent, and articulate. I have some smarts too, but he definitely wins that one.

Who does the laundry?    Me, I am so picky about how I do the laundry.  It would drive me crazy if anyone else did it.

Who pays the bills?    He earns the money, I pay the bills. I still chuckle over an incident about a year ago where I asked Matt to write a check for me and he was seriously bugged. That is something he has gladly passed on to me.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?   Me.

Who mows the lawn?   Matt should and will mow the lawn. We still have lawn people that come and do it. They came for the previous owners and since we didn’t live in our house all last year, we had them continue so our yard wouldn’t be “that” yard in our neighborhood. We haven’t canceled their services yet. We will though… soon… so Matt better gear up. Luckily it’s a small yard…=)

Who cooks dinner?   I do. Matt hates to cook, I love to. He promised me early in our marriage that if I cook, he’d clean up.  And when he's home, he still follows through with that really well.

Who drives?  Depends. I get car sick really easily, so I don’t mind driving if I think I’m going to get sick, but for the most part, when were in the car as a family, he’ll take the wheel.





Who is more stubborn?   I think neither one of us our extrememly stubborn, although we have strong opinions over certain things.

Who kissed who first? If you were to ask Matt, he’d say it was me. I didn’t though, I just set up the perfect opportunity for him. I would never kiss a boy first, so for the record, he did kiss me first. =)

Who proposed?   Matt




Who has more friends?   Matt grew up here, so he definitely knows more people here than I do. I’d have to say he has more friends.

Who is more sensitive?   Definitely me. I am extremely volatile. =) Just kidding, but I can count on one hand how many times I’ve actually seen Matt cry, where it definitely occurs much more for me. It’s a woman thing, right?

Who has more siblings?    He does. 5 brothers, 1 sister. I have 3 brothers.

Who wears the pants?   I think we are pretty equal on this one. We have our own opinions on certain things, but we’re pretty good about communicating about it and coming up with something we both feel good about

My first Race!

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to train for and run a half-marathon. I have been training since January and I have little races here and there to track my progress. The Rex Lee 5K was one of those races, which I ran today.

Seeing Matt and the kids in the stands. Matt's parents were so sweet, they came to cheer me along as well (Lauren ran in the race too, but they were still extremely supportive). In this picture, I had just crossed the finish line, trying to breathe, make faces at the kids and pose for a picture all at the same time.

I ran for my Grandpa who is a 2-time Cancer survivor, the latest time just recently. Love you Grandpa!

As soon as Kate saw me, she wanted me to hold her. As soon as she got in my arms, she was giving me kisses. I love how kids make you feel like a rock star.

So, my goal was to run the 5K, which is 3.1 miles in 30 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my race time was 28:27.96 seconds! I averaged a 9 minute 11 second mile! I was shocked, but that would explain why my legs were so tired when I finished. I've never run that fast for that long on the treadmill. But, now there is no excuse not to. I also finished 497th! (But out of 1532 people, that's not too bad). =) 

Here's Tanner making silly faces waiting for me to cross the finish line. He is such a funny kid! 

Over all, it was so much fun! I can't wait until my next race...a 10K in May!

Matt's new Best Photography layout, with lots of new photos.

Link to Matt's mountain website, then click on the  "Our Best Photography" link

Just Because...

We love you and miss you!!

Oh no!

This is Tanner anxiously looking on...

As Kate goes from this...

...to this, and is now a threat to ALL of Tanner's toys.

And this is Tanner trying to get everything out of her way before he realizes that it really is pointless. Yes, we have a very stressed toddler here. Hopefully he will adjust soon.

(These pictures are actually a few weeks late, Kate is now walking (yes, WALKING!!) behind a little push toy we have. It won't be long before she is cruising all over on her own I'm afraid. But we are excited about her progress).

Learning to Play Together...

I'm sure all of you mothers of toddlers out there will agree with me that it is very difficult to help these little guys learn to share everything that was once all their own (including mommy and daddy's time), with another little person. Here are some pictures of an afternoon of playtime at our house...

Kate is trying out the piano...

Really starts getting into it,

And here comes brother...

Poor Kate gets pushed aside.  But at least they are playing together.

Big brother keeping his eyes on things (well, on Kate really!)

Almost able to reach the toys (she can now).

Enjoying some playtime with Big Brother.

I sure love these cute babies of mine!  And all I can say is Tanner watch out, when Kate gets a little older, she is going to surprise you with her ability to "dish it out" herself.  I can see it in her now...=)