Her First Words!

She has been a very vocal baby from the get go, but we heard her for intelligent words the other week.  This is not what I expected to be the first thing to hear her say (besides da da)

It was "see ya"!  She said it the first time when we were saying goodbye to our friends, Tyler and Michelle.  We were waving bye (which she has been doing for a few months now) and she mimicked us saying "see ya".  It was adorable!  

Also, I have figured out that she says "de de" to indicate a dog. Her vocabulary is slowing growing :)  

She is growing fast and is in all 18 months clothes.  She has been sick A LOT lately and also started to get her first molar.  I am trying to stay as patient as possible, but I hope to have my happy baby back soon!  We are trying to stay busy in our freezing cold house! 

She is always blurry in pictures! Ready for church at 13 months!

Thanksgiving 2013

This year I was able to home for Thanksgiving-the first time in 7 years! I have always been in Utah and then last year my family all came up to Michigan to partake one of the best meals of the year.  So this year, it was nice to finally be back home for one of my favorite holidays.

We left Monday night (super early) because of course the weather was supposed to be bad in PA and we wanted to travel before the storm.  The weather was pretty miserable the whole week, very typical for Johnstown.  I wanted to play a turkey bowl game on Thanksgiving morning, but it was only in the high 20s that day, so ya that didn't happen.  The week was full of yummy food, shopping, movie watching and socializing with family and friend (Lindsay, one of the only people I still talk to from home).  

Unfortunately Madeleine was a total terror on this trip so that kind of put a damper on things.  She is starting a temper tantrum phase and just yells and throws her head back with the least provocation.  She was also fighting a cold and probably teething so it is understandable, but its still hard to deal with!  

My whole crazy family (minus Robbie) was there for Thanksgiving,  It was a full house!  But it is always good to get together since it doesn't happen enough.  

Kids table!

Madeleine enjoyed her time with Grandma and cousins.  

Playing the piano with Lexi

Birthday Weekend

I am aging quickly! 30 is just around the corner.  I will stop worrying about that looming day and try to enjoy the rest of my 20s.  I mean I did only turn 28!  

I said this last year, but I am amazed how much different my birthdays are now that I have a baby.  It just doesn't seem right to focus so much on myself anymore, even for my birthday.  Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE birthdays, but they just feel different now.  With that said, I still had a great weekend and was able to spend some baby free time! 

We had visitors (Tyler and Michelle) staying with us for the weekend, which made it extra fun. On Friday Brody also surprised me and took me to Catching Fire, the next Hunger Games movie.  I loved it!  He also got Tyler and Michelle to buy me a birthday cake while we were out.  I loved having my own cake and that he thought of doing this for me.  On Saturday, my actual birthday, Tyler, Michelle, Brody and I all headed to South Bend, Indiana for the BYU vs Notre Dame football game! Angela kindly watched Madeleine for the whole day while we enjoyed our little road trip and game.  Well we tried to enjoy it.  It was in the 20s that day and bitter, bitter cold!! I really have never been that cold in my life.  BYU sadly lost, but really we didn't care much who won.  We were just anxious to get out of the cold!! While on campus we visited the Cathedral, the Basilica and ate some delicious, soft, hot pretzels (they were seriously the best soft pretzels ever).  It was a fun experience, even if I almost lost some appendages to frost bite! 

On Notre Dames campus

Happy 28th to me :)  

Frankenmuth: Michigan's Christmas Town

Frankenmuth's claim to fame is the largest Christmas store in the world!! And lucky us, Frankenmuth is a mere 1.5 hours away.  So of course we had to make a visit while we are living here.  The rest of the town is a cute touristy town, called Little Bavaria.  It has a lot of shops and bakeries with names like Cheese Haus, Candy Haus, and anything else ending in Haus.  The buildings are lined with gingerbread trim and have an old German feel.  It was worth the visit :)

We invited a few friends and some met up with us (minus their husbands and all of their kids) so we looked  like a polygamist family.  People were giving us some interesting looks.  I was glad Brody was actually able to come with us to something for once.  While we were there, we browsed the crazy, huge Christmas store.  It had every kind of ornament that you could dream of and everything else Christmas.  Then we ate lunch at the famous German restaurant and walked around town.  It was a fun day trip!! 

With friends Natalie and Seidi

Just a Little Trip to Our Future Home

Last week we were invited to take a short trip to Palo Alto to see the office where Brody has an offer to work after business school.  Brody wanted to meet everyone and get a chance to see if this is really where he wants to end up.  Well, I knew he would love it, because its Palo Alto after all.  And I was right.  He really liked all the people he would be working with and feels like he will have a lot of opportunities there.  So after some deliberation, (and trying to forget how much we will have to spend on rent) we have decided that the Bay Area is where we will call home!

I have some trepidation about the whole thing, because its not somewhere I really imagined us to be and I am a little disappointed that we will have to keep renting for quite awhile (spending ridiculous amounts of money for something tiny and old) but once I get over that I will be super excited.  I mean I LOVE California and I will be spending a great deal of time outdoors anyway.  Who needs a nice house there? Right?  I'll keep telling myself that :) 

Now to our trip--I'm sorry, you may want to stop reading, my 3 readers, now because I will probably complain too much.  The time change, sleeping in the same room as a baby and the flight were all just realy hard on me.  I didn't get much sleep so therefore I didn't enjoy it too much.  But I did enjoy some nice temps and sunshine!! Can't wait to spend my winters there! 

We attempted to trick or treat the first night, but Madeleine was way too tired for this activity.  I was sad because I was really looking forward to Halloween this year.  Oh well.  She was also sick so that ruined any other Halloween activities before and on the day anyway.  We did attempt to visit a few houses and Brody insisted that we go to the houses on the street where Steve Jobs once lived.  It was crazy.  Apparently everyone else in Palo Alto had the same idea because there were about 200 people in front of his house.  

My costume- a skeleton (I even wore it in California)

My baby Cinderella

We also got to eat some yummy food paid for by per diem and got to spend all of Saturday with Pam! Pam showed us around Half Moon Bay and Santana Row (shopping area) in San Jose.  I always enjoy getting to see Pam so that was a highlight! 

Pam, Madeleine and I walking in Half Moon Bay- enjoying our ocean view. 

More Visitors

This time Grandma Julie and Uncle Cache came to stay with us!  They flew in for a few day trip to experience fall in Ann Arbor and to help celebrate Madeleine's first birthday.  We had so much fun with them.  Too bad Brody had to take midterms and finals so he was too busy to hang out for most of the time.  That was ok because I had fun with his mom and brother without him.  Hopefully, Julie and Cache had fun!!

We were busy most of the time and did everything that I could think of in a 20 mile radius.  Of course, we dined in many of Ann Arbor's restaurants, and visited our usual spots, a.k.a campus, Dexter Cider Mill, Jenny's Farm Market and downtown. (we have taken all of our visitors to these places) We also visited the Arboretum (nature area with paths owned by U of M), a cool little train museum in Saline and the giant Salvation Army.  I did love having them visit- it was so nice to have their help with the baby and all the things around the house.  Madeleine and her Uncle have a cute relationship and I love watching them bond.  Brody was also able to spend some quality time with his brother at a U of M football game.  Julie took a ton of pictures-- here are a few.

Impromptu photo shoot

Arboretum 

At the cute train museum 

Campus- in front of the Law Building

First Birthday Party!

I was so excited for this special day so I planned a fall themed birthday party to celebrate Madeleine's first year.  Because she only turns one once, I had an excuse to buy lots of decor and make delicious food.  I was planning this day for months and I had a blast getting everything ready.  I really wish I didn't feel guilty spending lots on parties on a daily basis!!

Brody's mom and little brother flew in for the occasion and to enjoy Michigan in the fall! She was a big help getting the house ready.  I also got help from Pam the weekend before.  She helped make cake balls, which we just froze and took them out the day of.  I am happy to say that I actually LOVED my decor and how the food turned out.  (first time I can say that)  I took lots of pictures--these are some of my favorites.

She was spoiled with so many presents!!

We sang Happy Birthday to her and had pumpkin gobs (whoppie pies) instead of cake.

She actually ate a little of this cake.  We discovered that she doesn't like her fingers sticky--maybe that's why she doesn't like the frosting!

She Turns 1!

One whole year has come and gone.  I definitely had my ups and downs these past 12 months, but it keeps getting better as I become more accustomed to my new life role as a momma.  Madeleine is our main focus these days.  She's all we talk and think about, and that is ok.  She definitely brings so much joy to our lives.  (along with the frustrations, lack of sleep and exhaustion) I am having a hard time articulating how I feel about this past year, but overall it has been a joyful year, one that I will always remember!

At 12 months, she has 8 teeth, began to walk just before her birthday and getting smarter each day.  She is learning new skills all of the time, like stacking cups, putting puzzle pieces in the right place and much more!  I took some birthday pictures of her a few weeks back.  I made her outfit and her very own smash cake.  I underestimated how hard it would be to take pictures of my squirmy baby, but I think a few turned out alright.  Also, I was very sad that she wanted NOTHING to do with her cake.  She would not eat it or touch it.  So I have no cute pictures of her with cake smashed on her face :( 

She was trying to erase the chalk board :)

Fall, The Prettiest Time of the Year!

While Pam was visiting we put her to work.  I wanted to take some family pictures with the fall leaves in the background.  So I threw some outfits together and convinced Pam to be our photographer.  We had beautiful weather, but unfortunately Brody was busy studying and doing group stuff for midterms so we only had a short window of opportunity to take pictures.  Madeleine was also pretty fussy that day because of teething, but we did the best we could.  I think some turned out pretty well.

Madeleine and I have also been enjoying some fall activities.  We hit up a pumpkin patch/farm market last week and I tried to take a bunch of selfies while there.  Madeleine loved walking and crawling around all the pumpkins and the weather was simply gorgeous.  We totally took advantage of it.  Oh and did I mention she walks!! She started about a week ago.  Now she is even more obsessed with moving around and walking is her preferred mode of transportation.  Wow- have I been busy chasing her.  Good thing she can't run yet!

Pam Comes to Michigan!

We had yet another visitor!  This time it was Pam, flying the whole way from San Francisco to hang out with us for the weekend.  She had Monday off for Columbus day, so she was able to make a short trip to visit.  She was in need of a 'fall' experience since California doesn't really have a fall.  We were happy to oblige.

We drink apple cider and pumpkin donuts, baked fall treats (for Madeleine's upcoming birthday), walked through the leaves and drove through the pretty Michigan country side.  It is so nice to have so many good friends coming to visit lately.  We loved having time to chat and catch up.  I miss living close to Pam--I was so grateful for the visit and we hope that I can go visit her in California soon.  

Of course, I didn't take any pictures, but maybe because we were too busy :) Pam did help us take family pictures, so I will have to post some of those when I do some editing.  

By the Huron River 

Girls Trip to Chicago!

Back in August, my friend Angela asked me if I wanted to go on a girl's trip in Chicago in the fall.  I was a quite honestly pretty leery of the idea because I would have to leave Madeleine.  The idea sounded fantastic, but I was super worried about leaving her for the first time, having Brody watch her, put her to sleep and feed her all by himself.  In the end, I agreed to go after some persuasion.  I definitely needed a break after a long summer of taking care of the baby without much help!  After it was all said and done, my pediatrician's words summed it perfectly.  She said, "Most parents worry about leaving their children for the first time, but after its over they never regret it." I totally agree!

Angela and I flew to Chicago and stayed at a hotel on Magnificent Mile.  We loved the location and the fact that we got it for free! We met up with Jessie on the first night and she was able to stay the night in the hotel, leaving Clara for the first time.  We loved to opportunity to sleep minus interruptions from babies.  (too bad I couldn't sleep much past 6 a.m. because of my internal clock) We also loved shopping without strollers, eating out, exploring and just relaxing!  We decided that these girl's trips need to be an annual thing!

Best shopping buddy ever!

We also visited the Navy Pier and rode the ferris wheel, Millennium Park and lots and lots of stores :)

High up on the ferris wheel!