random December pictures

Brooklyn loves edamame.  Loves it.  And my favorite part is how she says it...sounds more like "ello Mommy" :)

 

 

We've pulled out the jumper...and Jake loves it.  He looks so cute in it, even if it is pink.

One of Brooklyn's favorite things to do is climb in the crib when Jake wakes up from his nap.  She throws a few books in first, then hops in and reads him a few.  

 

 Jake likes it too.

Jake is eating more baby food.  I've stopped giving it to him this last week though because he got a yeast infection and it wasn't clearing up.  But I will start up with it again soon.

 

  

This is Brooklyn at the same age as Jake.  You can definitely tell they are siblings!

I heard Brooklyn talking in her room the other day and went to see what she was up to and found this...reading to her baby.  She has never been that in to her doll yet, until recently.  She looks so cute and grown up in these pictures.

 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card 2012 - my cousin Kelsi made this for me...love it...she is the best.

And I wanted to document this on here just for memory sake...
...these were what I gave to our neighbors and friends this year.  Thank you Pinterest.

Glendale Glitters/Gingerbread houses

Last Saturday I picked up John from the airport (he had been in California for his Grandma's funeral) and we headed to Glendale Glitters.  We weren't sure exactly what it was, but I'd read it was basically like a state fair, but in December with lots of Christmas lights.  And that pretty much summed it up :)

It was free (can't beat that) and surprisingly cold, which made it feel more like Christmas.  It was funny to see people drinking hot chocolate and others eating ice cream cones.   We met our friends Tal and Alison there and walked around for awhile.  They had a band playing music and Brooklyn got to see Santa again...and his elves too. 

this kid is growing out of all his clothes so fast and has no winter stuff...hence the pink hat!

Tal and Alison

We had some friends over to make gingerbread houses on Sunday night.  I bought a few gingerbread house kits for some to do and the rest used graham crackers.  We had a good time!  And I loved seeing Brooklyn's excitement about it all..mostly that she got to eat lots of candy, but she loved decorating her house too.

really excited, can't you tell? :)

I put the house together and she did the rest.  She did awesome.  

 

 

I love how it turned out - that is all her.

 happy guy just hanging out

Janet, Patrick, and baby Annabelle

Tal and Alison

I didn't get a close up of John's gingerbread house, but if you look closely to the left...it is a Lord of the Rings tower.

Sonya and Solomon's wedding

Two weekends ago, John's sister Sonya got married!  We flew to Utah Friday night and left Sunday afternoon...it was a quick trip.  We are so happy for her and Solomon -- they are perfect for each other.  They got married in the Salt Lake temple on Saturday afternoon.  It was a wonderful ceremony and we are so grateful we were able to witness it.

It was freezing that day (well especially cold because we are used to Arizona weather now) and even snowed some.  I wish I had taken more pictures.  Actually I wish my camera hadn't died at the temple, after only taking 6 shots.  (I left my charger at home too)

some of the nieces and nephews waiting for them to come out

the happy couple!

After pictures at the temple we headed to the reception.  Everything looked so pretty and they had tons of amazing Polynesian food, including a pig.  We definitely ate until we were stuffed!  I love weddings -- it was so fun to visit all night with family, dance with family (Brooklyn loved it and was out there shakin' it :)), and to spend Sonya and Solomon's special day with them.   

My sis-in-law Shari was their photographer (she is AWESOME), so I stole a couple of her pictures off Facebook.

gorgeous!  

some Christmas festivities

The Monday after we got back from our Thanksgiving trip, we got our Christmas decorations out and set up our tree.  It was fun to do it together as a family and to see Brooklyn so excited about the tree.  She loved telling us where to put the ornaments and kept saying "peetty TREEEEEE"!  I know she doesn't fully 'get it' yet, but she definitely understands more than last year.  I love this time of year, especially with kids.  I love how even the small and simple things excite Brooklyn so much.   

 These are a few shots of our apartment with the Christmas decor up...

Setting up the tree...

 
Brooklyn's attempt to hold Jake = not a very happy Jake.

I love their new Christmas jammies.

One afternoon some friends and I (and kids too) went to the new outlet mall that just opened here.  They are owned by the same company who owns the outlet mall in Park City.  It was fun to walk around and go in some stores, dreaming of what we would buy if we had lots of money :-)  

blurry picture -- Mandy, Reese, me, Jake and Brooklyn, Kayla, Lexi, Kandas, Parker, Emily, Jackson and Garrett

We also had a Christmas girls night, where we went to dinner and each brought a $10 gift.  We tried a new place (Elephant Grill??...something like that) and did our gift exchange white elephant style.  It was a really fun night with NO kids!

Emily, Chelsea, Kayla, Kandas, Mandy, Anna, Kiya, and me

The kids got to sit on Santa's lap at our ward Christmas party.  I was positive that Brooklyn would cry when I put her on his lap, but she surprised me and was more than happy to.  She asked Santa for "Ariel" and "treats".  Jake was intrigued by his beard and almost pulled it off.

 

And these pictures are random...

  

Brooklyn is naughty but very honest...it cracks me up.  She knows when she is doing something she shouldn't and tells herself what I would tell her if I saw what she was doing.  For example, in the picture above..I could hear her saying "no no no Brookin....not color belly...paper"....which means No, no, no Brooklyn.  We don't color on our belly, only on paper.   Lately she has started calling herself "Brookin Jane" when she is doing something naughty because John called her that one night when we wasn't happy with her.

 

 
And the picture below is spilled eggs all over our kitchen floor.  The story behind it - John was chasing Brooklyn and she was laughing and running away.  I was making us breakfast for dinner and had a bowl of scrambled eggs on the counter.  Brooklyn came over excited and grabbed the bowl, which spilled everywhere, including all over her -- in her hair, in her eyes, all over her clothes.  It was hilarious..I really wanted to take a picture of her, but she was NOT happy.

 

still upset in the bathtub