Welcome to our World

Well, after all these years, I finally shocked and awed Danny for his birthday. He came home to Pizza Hut sitting on the table (used a gift card we got at Christmas -- thanks, Shannon!) & a kitchen mega decorated with Transformers stuff, had rented Kung Fu Panda (I hardly ever am willing to stay up to watch a movie anymore) & he knew my parents were coming over for cake & ice cream @ 6:30pm, but what he didn't know was that about a dozen other people were coming too. And he got what he wanted for his birthday but thought we couldn't afford... I've been plotting that one since before Christmas. When he opened it up he couldn't speak & I think he stopped breathing too! Our main man certainly deserves all the appreciation and spoiling he got this year. He is a magnificent hubby and dad and we could not ask for more. Feel free to sing along with our rendition of Happy Birthday. And I would make an entire 31 year video if I actually had footage from befo...

Please keep in mind as you listen to the music in the video that we live in a bright yellow house. For Kaelah's half birthday (exactly one week ago) she got to go to the doctor and get a shot in each arm. Do we know how to party or what? This is her second visit to our new pediatrician and once again the environment and Dr. Roy and Melissa have certainly made our lives easier. It's a one doctor, one nurse little office that is created and decorated to look like a home. Kaelah loves the rooms and even crawled up the exam table becuase it's made into a car with stairs to climb. Only one child is seen every hour so there is plenty of room to find out all the doctor and you need or want to know. Kaelah weighs 25.2 pounds (65%), is now 33.5" tall (94%), and her head is still above all the lines on the charts. It's interesting to know if we lined 100 18-month-olds up Kaelah would have the 2nd largest head. Perhaps that is why she has learned so many words in the l...

When Kaelah was about 6 months old she would smile for the camera if you said "cheese." That didn't last long, of course, but now it's back! Here's some silly examples from this month! Meigou does not enjoy Kaelah hugs as much as I do, but she's getting used to it. (: It doesn't get much cheesier than this. Cheese for breakfast! Here's Kaelah in her snow gear for next year we got on clearance. It was funny to see her try to walk around in all this stuff that was way too big! She gave up & laid down but was happy about how pink the coat was! Cheese!

We love Danny's big, fun family!!!

Kaelah's first time tubing was so much fun! Maybe not so much for her, but the rest of us had a wonderful morning. Kaelah got to borrow her cousins Evie's awesome bright pink snow pants and boots to try to keep her warm. Which she needed, because most of the time she was just standing around. Above this is when she was saying "weeee" on the way down. By the baby hill. In the lodge giggling because of cousin Connor. He would say, "Who's the best cousin in the world?" in this funny voice & could make her smile no matter what. And here's a part of the crew who really knew how to have fun! I've never gone down a hill attached to so many people! It's the best way to go! If you're ever in Utah during the winter, check it out: http://www.soldierhollow.com/tubing.php

There are wonderful things at Grandma & Grandpa Smith's house: great family, great food, Goldberg, the Golden Retriever (and lots of milk bones to treat her with), and the toy kitchen. Oh, and they had A LOT more snow than we did! We were shocked as we drove up! Draw name presents on Christmas Eve are a blast. Everyone does such a good job picking out presents. We were thrilled with the book & DVD Scott gave us, & I have a feeling he (& Mark & Brennen) liked his Mets shoes. I was blown away by the sweater Carla found for Kaelah & was wondering if she really stayed under the $10 kids limit. The day after Christmas we were lucky enough to go visit Dan's grandmother with Stacie & her family. I adore the way she laughs as she watches her great-grandchildren run around and always says whatever present you give her was too much (even though her presents are better). Uh, oh, we're out of order here, but here's a shot from opening presents tog...

One of the benefits of having your grandparents live in two states is that Christmas lasts longer! And in Kaelah's case, they are completely different, both in great ways. With my side of the family things are quite quiet & everything revolves around Kaelah. On Dan's side, we get to be around lots of great family members we haven't seen for months and enjoy being part of a great big family. The more the merrier! But for now, we'll share the quieter side of Christmas. Above: Kaelah's favorite Christmas picture. She gets excited every time she sees it pop up on the computer. I think we've been reading Carl's Masquerade too much lately. (: Kaelah enjoyed ALL the presents ANYONE received, including this table cloth. Meigou had this squeaky toy so torn up by the end of our celebration it went out in the trash with the wrapping paper. Wearing the "What Santa doesn't bring me Grandma will" pajamas her own way. Kaelah was bouncing aro...