Funny Arrie

So, here are a few funny things about our baby!

1. She LOVES toothpaste and brushing her teeth. Toothpaste and a toothbrush will keep her happy forever.

2. She loves to say prayers (we say probably 10 prayers at lunch)

3. The other day Braden came home from work and was in the bathroom. Arrie grabbed the car keys he left on the coffee table and took them to the bathroom door and tried to reach the knob to put the key in to open it. Smarty pants!

4. The last few days when I go in her room to wake her up, I find her like the picture above. I don't know when she figured out how to unzip her jammies. She obviously can't figure out how to take them off though. I know one day she will, and I will post a picture.

Bathtub Love

Today I found Arrie in the bathroom. She had parted the shower curtain and was looking in the tub. When she noticed I was there, she pointed in the tub and when, "uh? uh?" (our little Seagull). I asked, "Do you want to take a bath?" She then dropped what was in her hands and tried to unbutton her sweater! I helped her and took off her sweater. Then she proceeded to take off her top by pulling it up as high as she could. Anyways, it was so cute that she new she needed to take her clothes off to get in the tub. Arrie loves to take baths.

Babooshki

I saw this on someone's blog the other day, it made me smile!
(Babooski are Grandmas)

Arrie is One Year Old

Today is Arrie's official birthday! I can't believe it has been a year. Last night we went to bed and I said to Braden, "A year ago tonight I'd be waking up in a couple of hours wetting my pants! I'm so glad it's not a year ago!" :) I did too - I woke up at 1:00 a.m. last year when my water broke. All day today I have been thinking about all that happened a year ago and the crazy and painful ordeal labor is. However, as the day is almost over now, I can remember the absolutely WONDERFUL parts.

I remember holding Arrie, I couldn't believe she was mine. I remember my parents and Braden's parents and all of our family being so proud and in complete awe of the new addition to our family. I mostly remember the AMAZING impact it had on me and Braden (our little family). We were so happy. I don't think either of us had ever experienced joy like we did then. I remember Braden had to work and film an event that first night with Arrie but he was going to be coming up to the hospital that night to stay the night with us. I went to sleep and Arrie did too :) and I remember Braden coming in. I wish I had that on video, but I can see it in my mind as if it was a video. He was so happy, so excited to be with us, so happy to see his little girl. It was so cool to have our family turn from 2 to 3.

We are still so very happy. We love Arrie so much. She amazes us every day - it is so wonderful to watch her grow. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for Arrie and for Braden. It is truly a miracle that we can participate in the Godly power of creation. We have the opportunity to feel a little of the love for our children that Heavenly Father has for us His children.

Happy Birthday Arrie!!! :)

Arrie's First Birthday

I can't believe it has been a whole year! One year ago today I was HUGE and waiting for our little princess to come. I am glad that experience is behind me but what a miracle came from it all. We love having Arrie in our lives. She is so fun to watch growing and learning. Today for example, she got a tea set with plastic cakes from for her birthday, and I sat down with her to have our first tea party. She was picking up the cakes and pretending she was eating them and then she would swallow and make an "ahhh" sound! It was SO cute - I didn't know she had developed a little imagination already! We had a lot of fun.

She was so fun yesterday at her birthday party. She had her own little cake and we got her down to just her diaper and panties and sat her down with her cake. We thought she'd go to town on it - she loves sweets. But she didn't! She would put her fingers in and then show everybody and then lick her fingers off! What a little lady! :)

She loved opening her presents and finding what was inside the bag or the wrapping paper. She had fun with all the attention too. I think she was a little confused with all the attention but she liked it. She didn't like the hat or the tiara we tried to put on her - but we expected that.

So, with one year spent getting to know my little girl here are things about Arrie that I love.

1. Her laugh - I love how she lets out a little scream and it's usually when she sees people (or a dog - Pogi) that she loves. I love it when "Daddy" comes home - she really screams when she sees him. Also, if you tickle her in the right place she goes CRAZY! :)

2. Dancing - Arrie gets a beat and she shakes her upper body and bounces a little.

3. Reading stories - Arrie will go and get one of her books and bring it to me. Even though she doesn't like me "reading" the story, she loves sitting on my lap and turning the pages.

4. Waking up in the morning - As long as it is on time (and not before 7:00) I love going in her room when she's awake and she is so happy when we come in to get her.

5. Walking - Arrie is a great walker and she loves to go everywhere. With that is coming more independence which I'm not sure how to handle sometimes - but she's a "Big Girl" now and it's so fun.

6. Grandmas - it's been so fun to watch my mom become a Grandma. Arrie loves both of her grandmas so much and its so fun to see her interact with them.

7. "Loves" - Arrie gives "loves" by leaning into the person (or the dog - Pogi) sideways with her mouth open until her face touches them. That is her giving "loves."

8. Learning - I already mentioned this a little, but she loves to learn. I try and be creative to help her learn. I will hide things under her crib, or in a box and she will find them. Or she has learned how to put the tiny tubs of play dough back into the tube they go in. Or teaching her where her socks go, where a hat goes, where shoes go - and then asking her where they go and she tries to put them on.

9. Being "Mommy" - I love being her mommy. I love knowing she is my little girl and that she loves me so much. I get intimidated sometimes knowing all I need to teach her and knowing how much she will need me as she grows up - and also knowing how at times she won't need me and I'll want her to. But it is truly a holy and the best calling in life. I am so grateful to have Braden as her "Daddy" and my husband to help raise her. I LOVE being "Mommy".

Well, here are pictures from her birthday.

And then Braden's parents went to a concert the other night and got all the grand kids
these fun tie-die shirts!

Grandma Andersen's 90th Birthday

Last Sunday was Grandma Andersen's 90th Birthday! We all went to see her with her all time favorite Wacky Cake! (You can get the recipe below if you want to try it). She is doing so great. We got there just as they were serving dinner so all of the residents and nurses that could have cake got a piece too! Everyone sang Happy Birthday and mom helped Grandma blow out her candle. Grandma had balloons on her wheelchair from Pat and Denny and also us. I don't think anyone didn't know it was her birthday! :) Arrie LOVED the balloons and gave Grandma "loves" - she is very good at that. I have gone to see Grandma once this week since then and she laughs when you give her hugs and I gave her lots of kisses all at once and she said, "Gosh..." and then laughed - it was like I had my Grandma back for a second. Well, enjoy the pics.

Arrie is a walking machine!

Here is Arrie walking today!!! She goes everywhere!!!

Our Sappy Shows

A new season has started with TV! We are sad not to have our "LOST" and "Jack Bower 24" but we have two new favorites and they are completely opposite from last year. We LOVE Extreme Hose Makeover and Undercover Boss.


These show make us cry! It's pathetic but so awesome!! We love the story behind all the houses that they build. And the impact it has on the families/people that they build them for. We both would love to be a part of the show or something like it. Last night they did a house for "Girl's Hope" in Baltimore Maryland. It was so touching. They sent the girls on a vacation to LA (I bet the girls had never been on a vacation anywhere) and they built a house for them while they were gone. This house is where they will live away from their families so they can focus on their education and not live in the projects with the violence and drugs. It gives them an opportunity for life.



With Undercover Boss, it is so neat that these CEO's want to really find out what is going on in their companies. The best part though is the sappy part at the end. These CEO's get to work with and really get to know some of the employees that work for their companies. They get to know their stories and their needs and their dreams for the future. Usually they are your run of the mill jobs (like hotel maintenance or hospitality, waitresses, factory workers, street cleaners, delivery jobs, etc.) so the workers usually are more blue collar and have had a rough start. The best part is at the end when the CEO reveals himself and then compliments the people he met on their performance, their hard work, their ambition and promises them things, such as a postion in the company that is better pay, a vacation with their families, paying for their education so they can do better in life, etc. It is just great!

So check these shows out if you want to see that there is still a lot of good in this world.

My Grandma Andersen

My grandma is staying in Orem Rehab and Nursing. She is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's but is still always happy and laughs and says some of her good old sayings on good days. I get to go see her about once a week. The last move was hard. She used to be up by my mom in an Assisted Living place but she has gotten too advanced now and is now in Orem. But we go see her as much as possible. I think most of the days I have gone to see her she's had good days. She is usually in bed when we get there but the aids are great to get her in her wheelchair so we can sit in the dining room or go for a walk in the courtyard. It is fun to see her with Arrie. Arrie gives her "loves" and somehow knows she is grandma. Grandma talks (makes sounds) different with Arrie than with us. You can tell she knows she is "talking" with a baby. Below are clips from a couple of weeks ago...it was a really really good day. Grandma was smiling so much and made sense a couple of times. I caught her on video with mom, mom didn't know I was filming - it was just so sweet I had to capture it. Then we got her on video with Arrie. She turns 90 this October, I can't believe she is still with us. My grandpa passed away 9 years ago. Well, this is my grandma - we love her so much!

This is Funny!

One day I gave Arrie a sip of my drink. I pulled the glass away and she opened her mouth and went "Ahhhh"! I laughed so hard! I have noticed since that Braden and I usually make that sound after we drink. Here is Arrie doing it. She needed a little reminding with the pressure of being on camera but she does it.

What a night!

So Arrie had a really rough night last night. She had diarrhea yesterday but seemed to be doing ok by bed time. We had been easing whole milk into her bottles and so I thought MAYBE that was causing an upset stomach...or MAYBE it was because of her 3rd tooth that just came in...or maybe she just caught a bug. But anyways, she was fine around bedtime. Well, about midnight she woke up. I went into her room and it smelled SO bad. Poor girl had really bad diarrhea. Braden and I changed her clothes and sheets and got her another bottle and she went back to sleep. About 1/2 hour after that she woke up again. I went in and she had thrown up all over herself and her bed. So, I changed her into her 3rd pair of pajamas and cleaned her up the best I could with wipes and tried to rock her to sleep. I did so with her being very cuddly (that was one good side to the whole night). I didn't have the energy to change the sheets again, so after she fell asleep I took her into our bed. I was awakened about an hour later by a wet explosion in her diaper! I got up quick and rushed to her room to see the damage. To spare you the details, I had to change her into her 4th pair of pajamas, and her 3rd diaper for the night. We got back into our bed and she slept with us until morning. She stayed in bed with me until about 9:00 very calm and relaxed as I scratched her back and arms and legs - so unlike her to be still that long - and cuddly. She's been pretty slow today and while I folded laundry we had a movie on. She fell asleep just like this picture below just on the floor - she's so tired! She's never done that before. She seems to be doing better, just taking it slow today. Hopefully she can have a good night's sleep and be her busy happy self tomorrow.

having fun with the camera

I was playing with Braden's SLR and had a fun time trying different angles, filling the frame and catching Arrie in some fun shots. Enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend Boss Camping Trip

So, this past weekend we went on our first family camping trip. Our neighbor, Brother Bushnell was kind enough to let us borrow his 1970's El'Dorado camping trailer!


It was pretty sweet with the orange seats, the wooden/woven blinds, and the sleeping areas :) but we really loved the toilet, so we didn't have to use the public ones! It was so nice though to have a warm place to sleep, especially for Arrie. She didn't do the best the first night - she ended up sleeping with Mommy. The second night she did great and slept the entire night. But then the last night was like the first. We had so much fun with all the family. It was beautiful weather and great to do NOTHING and just be together. The last night all the adults played Truth or Dare and we had some pretty funny ones. DeLanea had to ask the neighboring camp for a roll of toilet paper. Jenell had to stick her head in the near by stream (REALLY cold water). Braden was dared to stick grapes up his nose, blow them out without his hands, and then.....GROSE....eat them!



And Jake was dared to dance for one minute, like Jenell always says he does at home. Here is the video!

It was a blast, we all had a really great time! Here are some pics!

Brittney

DeLanea

Arrie and me

My Hot Husband

Georgia

Arrie and Jackson (Arrie adores Jackson)

See, Arrie is "loving" Jackson.
She will lay her head on you if she is giving you "loves"

And one more of Arrie

Give-a-way site

This is a great site. Right now they are giving away awesome facial cleansing and moisturizing products. Go to: http://www.simple-finds.com/2010/08/wash-your-face.html

And they have a giveaway closing on the 2nd for an etsy account that makes cute girl dresses! Check it out here: http://www.simple-finds.com/2010/08/just-knot-it.html

Summer 2010

Braden's first day back to school

Today is Braden's official first day of school - starting at 7:30 this morning! We have had so much fun this summer and have loved having 3 months off of work! This summer has been full of relaxing, little trips and lots of yard work. Below are some pictures to illustrate.

My mom, Arrie, and I went to Gardner Village one day

We made some adirondack chairs this summer!

Arrie's first time in the pool!

24th of July in Mapleton - it's a BIG deal!

She always grabs my face like this, but usually she gets my glasses!

Arrie's first boyfriend. He is in our ward and is 11 months old.
She attacks him every time she sees him.

At the end of a LONG morning/afternoon!

Braden and his dad finished our walkway that morning!

At the beginning of August we got to all go to a friend's cabin in Heber - it was SO fun! Braden's parents, my parents, my cousin Amy Kagel, and us.

While Amy was here the girls took a day to spend in Park City!Chowin' down! She loves to eat whatever we are eating!

This is our "Super Girl!" You say that and this is what Arrie does!

Lone baby in the road!

Arrie's first car

She was not happy here - I had to capture it, she has the saddest sad faces

Her 2nd time in a pool this summer, this time with her swimsuit!

And for the biggest part of our summer....Braden put in an entire new sprinkler system! Here is our house one year ago when we bought it:

The lawn might be green...but our water bill was HUNORMOUS! The entire system, we found out this year, was run with funny pipe, there was no pressure.

So, he dug trenches (involving the trencher falling over, and then having to dig deeper by hand afterwards anyways) and laid the pipe, hooked up the heads, and then we found out we had to replace the water main! :) So he dug another trench and got that all hooked up. The grass is only green around our flower beds but here is a pic of the progress so far.

And here you can see our new mailbox!

And this is the new system! :)

The grass is starting to come back - I will post another picture when it is all green and beautiful. Oh, you can also see that we got rid of the railroad ties.