Our Family of Four!

I'm loving being a mother of two! I have a terrific two-year-old and a terrific two-month-old. And I love my wonderful husband:) My life couldn't get any better! Here are some pictures of my beautiful family.

Some Halloween Pix

So it's been forever, but I'll try to catch up. Michael had croup at Halloween and was so sick, but I was mean and made him dress up and we took him Trick-or-Treating anyway. He did have a good time, I think, and he sure doesn't regret the bag of candy that he has! :) Emma slept in the stroller the whole time, but thankfully the weather was mild so Eric and I both got to go out with the kids.

Baby Emma Kate

I'll write more later, but in the mean time, here are some pictures:)

Who's Who???

Baby Emma is here and she looks just like Michael when he was born. Anyone who can guess who's who from these pictures will win the Grand Prize!

A Newborn's Conversation with Heavenly Father

A baby asked Heavenly Father, "They tell me you are sending me to earth soon. But how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

Heavenly Father said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But, here in heaven I am so happy that I sing and smile all the time. Will I miss that on Earth?"

Heavenly Father said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

Heavenly Father said, "Your angel will speak the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

Heavenly Father said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

Heavenly Father said, "Your angel will defend you even at the risk of life itself."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

Heavenly Father said, "Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment, there was much peace in heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "Heavenly Father, if I am to leave now, please tell my my angel's name."

Heavenly Father said, "You will simply call her, 'Mother'."

Michael's 2nd Birthday

I tried to get some pictures and videos of Michael's second birthday for our loved ones who couldn't be at either one of his little parties. Unfortunately, the memory card filled up and I don't have much to work with.

On August 11th and 12th, we were camping with my family in Hyrum and we had such a great time. Before we left to come home, we had cake with the Nielsons and Michael had tons of fun playing with his aunts and uncles and being spoiled by his parents and grandparents:)

August 13th was such a busy day that we didn't do much except give Michael a little puzzle and throw balloons on him. Michael didn't seem to notice anything amiss:)

August 14th, we had all the Woolfs and some family friends over for cake and ice cream. Michael was in heaven with all of his cousins over! He wasn't super interested in his cake because that meant being strapped to his chair instead of playing. He ate the few bites from the center that you can see in this picture and then said he was done. :)

I hope these videos will load, I'm not very savvy when it comes to technology.

The first video is cake in the wilderness (with flushing toilets and showers and such--hyrum reservoir, people; it's the place to go camping!)

This video is the birthday song from the Woolf party.

Our love and prayers are with our family whom we haven't seen for a while. We miss the Christensens and Justin and Heidi and Eric Lynn. Wish you could have been there!

My Little Boy

I'll be blogging about Michael a bit for now because Michael has been the best choice that Eric and I ever made since being married:) We love him and his sweet smile!

First haircut:(

First suit!

Second Halloween, but first time dressing up!

Playing dress up with Mom again:) Could his smile get any cuter??

The classic "I've fallen and I can't get up" in the snow. I hope this doesn't make me a bad mom, but this tragic event made me chuckle:)

Believe it or not, this was not staged! Michael actually sleeps like this. Eric does, too, funny enough:)

We're trying to get him to show off his muscles and bark like a tough guy but he's just too sweet for that rough stuff.

My baby loves hats:)

He'll even improvise if necessary! That little mixing bowl fits his head perfectly.

He loves melon...

and whipped cream!

He loves to help, especially when Dad's home.

This picture is a tribute to his Auntie Jenn who did this constantly as a kid:)

Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I've filled my huge quota for the day:) How can you describe the sweetness and innocence of a child? You can't, but once in a while they give you a little glimpse on film:)

Michael's First Year

Here's our little bundle of joy in the hospital!! (Showing off his muscles--he's such a stud!)

A few months older and showing mom the way to go:)

Blessing day! (Actually we didn't take any pictures on the blessing day, but we played dress up a few days later so I could snap some quick pics for memories:))

Shouting for joy during playtime with Dad!

He loves his toothbrush, it doubles as a mic for singing praises about mama! ;)

His first taste of whipping cream:) It was a hit from the start!

Don't tell Dad that this picture is on here! It was too cute to leave out!

If there was ever any question about who his daddy is, you can know that he's Eric's son because of the look on his face when he eats an Oreo! Haha!

Our brave boy's first time on the slip'n'slide:)

His first birthday party!

We love our little Michael! We are so grateful that he came to live with us!

A Bit of Vacation

In June, we went on vacation to Florida. We took two weeks to celebrate Eric's graduation from UVU (HOORAY!!!) and to visit his sister Mary and her family (also HOORAY!). I got some pictures from Mary's blog to show the fun that we had since we never remember our camera! (Thanks, Mary, for remembering yours!)

I'm gonna have to say that I love the beach! We spent some time there and I'm definitely sold on the whole idea.

I'm not sure if it was the fact that we were on vacation or the fact that we were in Florida, but being care-free for two weeks was certainly medicinal. A very, very grateful hats off to Mary and Dave for hosting us and putting up with us and providing this wonderful vacation for us. I feel like a new person! We love and miss you and are grateful for all the memories. You guys are awesome!

What Is A Dad?

My Dad is someone that I'm proud of!

I want to be just like him...

And do all the things he does...

And eat my popsicles all gone!

I love to laugh with him!

He's always been there for me!

My Dad is the very best! Happy Father's Day!

What Is A Dad?

A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail...

~By Susan Ceylise.~