Happy Birthday peanut!

Our little "peanut", as we call her, is turning 1 on Sunday. She is still barely tipping the scales at 16 lbs., but she's taking a few steps on her own & is very busy, meows whenever she sees a cat or dog & loves when Mom takes a shower because she gets to watch Baby Einstein!

We named this girl well.

Isabella means "beautiful" & as you can see- she is beautiful!

Naomi means "pleasant" & she really is the most pleasant person I've ever met.

She is also sweet, funny & very affectionate.

She gives big open mouthed kisses & will let you cuddle her as long as you want.

We are very glad to have our little Bella as part of our family.

We love you baby! Happy Birthday :)

Don't lick a pig

Other than this advise on avoiding the H1N1 flu, the best advice I've read is on my doctor's blog. Check it out if you are confused as me, with all the conflicting information on TV:
www.askdrjudi.blogspot.com

I heart Park City

Len turned 29 again on September 26th & we celebrated in Park City! There is no place more beautiful than PC in the fall. We hit the perfect weekend because this weekend it snowed there!

The boys cracked up at Bella getting eaten by the scary skiing frog! Bella didn't.

We go up all the time, but this was the first time I went to Olympic Park. It was on my top 10 list of coolest things ever! I could've stayed there all day watching those awesome athletes. Noah kept saying he wanted to do it & I agreed! I hope to live vicariously through him & send him there for summer camp next year. He LOVES snow, snowboarding, has no fear & a bit of a bohemian style. Perfect combination! He asked me the other day if he could have an army bag that goes over one shoulder & across his chest instead of a regular backpack like everyone else. I was so proud! I highly recommend visiting this amazing place right up the canyon, if you live in SLC! It was a fabulous "trip" (we categorize it as a trip because it's about the only vacation we can afford right now!) Happy Birthday old man!

Last night I saw the movie "Whip it" & loved it. Although it did bring back some memories that frighten me! In the movie, the main character, Bliss (played by my fav Ellen Page), is a free-spirited teenager who likes to live off the beaten path. Her mom doesn't understand her very well & keeps guilt tripping her into entering beauty pageants. Bliss ends up doing roller derby underground as "Babe Ruthless"! It's way more extreme, of course, but it reminded me of the crap I put my poor Mother through when I was a teenager! In general I was a good kid, but I did go through, what my parents call my "save the whale phase". While my Mom was home wallpapering my room in pink flowers & circling houndstooth pumps with a matching blazer in catalogs for me, I was handing out literature for GreenPeace, writing letters for Amnesty International, shopping for combat boots at the second hand store & planning the next concert outing. She didn't embrace my phase at all! I guess most people rebel at some point in their life, and it really did turn out to be a learning & growing experience for me. I pray everynight that I will understand my kids individual needs, help them strengthen their talents & embrace their unique personalities. It's not that easy for me, being the control freak that I am! I also secretly pray that they won't feel the need to rebel & fall away from the gospel, because it breaks my heart to think of it. Sometimes I don't feel qualified for this mom job! I just love my kids so much & it makes me appreciate the love my parents & Heavenly Father have for me too. Who knew a cute movie would bring up all these thoughts!

Eureka!

Bella's at that adorable age where it's hard not to just put some whipped cream on her head & eat her up for dessert! I think God made them soooooooo cute at this age because they are so wiggly, squirmy, into everything, hurt themselves 100 times a day & basically wear out their mother. It's the age where you'd ship them off for a few months to a baby boot camp if they weren't so cute. Luckily, I remembered a good trick today that I used with the boys. An all baby-friendly kitchen drawer. It's like heaven for an 11 month old! She can pull ziploc bags out of the box at lightning speed, chew on a celery brush & bang the floor to her heart's content with a rubber spatula. It gives me a few minutes to get dishes done without a baby hanging on my leg looking up at me with eyes like the kitty in Shrek pleading for attention. Eureka!

Be true to your school

It was our local school's carnival & fundraiser last night. We all had so much fun!

Bella enjoyed munching on the ends of the boys' straws :) Also, she is starting to stand up on her own, and she practiced alot at the park because the grass provided a nice bum cushion when she fell!

Sam got his face painted by a 3rd grader! When she yelled "next" I looked at her like, "really- you're the face painter?" I guess it's all for charity! She was so cute!

Sam loved his 3rd grade version of Batman!

Mack chose a tiger! Grrrrrr!

Noah waited for over an hour to be able to climb the wall & they almost closed it up right in front of him. I noticed he was getting teary eyed, so I was very happy when they stayed open longer. Phewww! He was so into it! He also was the first 2nd grader to finish their "jog-a-thon" earlier that day. He has Mommy's running genes :) Yeah! I just hope he keeps it up better than I have. Overall it was a fun night of snow cones, processed meat, bouncing your brains, & spending money for a good cause.

My darling I Love You, but let's wait until after 6 am to love each other. PLEASE!