Baby Shower!

My mom threw me a baby shower for little girl Gilson and she was SPOILED! It was a little different than my baby showers for Johnny because we didn't need any of the big stuff like car seats and strollers this time. So we just got to register for cute clothes and toys! And she is one well outfitted baby already!

Top- sleepers; Bottom- pants

Hats and bows! I hope she will let me put these on her!

Cute itty bitty socks

Onesies, shirts, etc. I LOVE all the pink and polka dots!

The GORGEOUS quilt my Grandma Smith made for her! It is so soft and beautiful and perfect. She made one of these quilts for all of us grand kids growing up and they were so special to us. Most of us had to have her make us second and third blankets because we wore the others down to rags. I feel so blessed that she has been able to make them for both of my children!

Thank you to everyone who came to the baby shower or sent us gifts! We are so appreciative and can't wait to meet this little girl!

Marcus' Birthday and Valentine's Day

We'll join these two posts since there's not a whole lot to say about each one. Being in Law School plus neither of us working translates to low key celebrations.

For Marcus' birthday, we went to Outback for dinner and came home to eat the cheesecake I made for him. I think that sometimes the simple things are what you remember most. Our celebrations may not be fancy, but we always have a great time together and I know someday we'll look back with fondness on these simple times in our lives.

Chocolate Malt Cheesecake

For Valentine's Day, my parents spoiled us with a night away in Salt Lake. They got us a hotel room downtown, took Johnny for the night, and sent us away on a very relaxing evening that included soaking in a whirlpool tub for over an hour, falling asleep around 11, and sleeping in until after 8am. It was heavenly! Since Johnny just started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago, it was so nice to get away before the baby girl comes.

Before we headed up to Salt Lake, Marcus came home with a beautiful red rose and box of chocolates for me and a bag of 3 Musketeers for Johnny. (Marcus and I may or may not be eating more of those than Johnny but whose counting?) I have found that I really love Valentine's Day. It's not that Marcus and I have ever done something extremely elaborate or spent much money on each other, but I just love it. I'm excited for when I have kids that are a little older that I can surprise with treats and valentine's. It's such a happy day to me.

Christmas

As usual, we were spoiled for Christmas this year. We spent the holiday in Washington with Marcus' family and had a great time. And we missed Utah's first big snow storm. (I wish we could have missed all of the snow storms. I am NOT a fan of winter or the snow!)

We spent lots of time with all of Marcus' siblings since everyone was there for Christmas. It was so fun to have lots of time to spend with the family and really enjoy each other's company. We also went to see Les Miserable while in Washington and LOVED it! Johnny's favorite part was playing with his cousins- especially Ukiah. I'm pretty sure Ukiah is his favorite person in the world. He calls him Kiah and it is the first name he has said outside of Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Rambo and Adrian (the last two are my parents' dogs). It's always so fun to be around family!

We drove home New Year's Eve and partied until midnight with my family. We had cheese and chocolate fondues, played The Game of Things, and had sparkling cider as the ball dropped. Subdued- but perfect for us!

We hope your holidays were filled with joy and love!

Family Photos

Back in the fall, my good friend and wonderful photographer Mani took our family pictures. They turned out WONDERFULLY and so I wanted to share some. If you need any pictures taken, you should definitely call her- she's fantastic! Look her up on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EmmanuellesPhotography or check out her blog: http://emmanuellesphotography.blogspot.com/

Thanksgiving

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with some of Marcus' family and the whole Smith family. My dad's whole family came up for Arizona for the holiday and it was FANTASTIC! They were here for a little over 3 days and it was not nearly enough time. It was my Grandpa's birthday the day before Thanksgiving so we threw him a little party after they got here- complete with a golf themed cake and a pineapple upside down cake (his favorite). We also made him a picture scrapbook of all the family which was a hit.

On Thanksgiving Day, Marcus, Johnny, and I went up to Centerville to spent some time with the Messer's and Brittany. We weren't there for super long but enough to eat a small Thanksgiving dinner before our big one later that night. Going to the Messer's is a bit of a Thanksgiving tradition for Marcus and his sister Brittany so it was fun to go up there for a bit.

Younger boy table at the Messer's Thanksgiving.
Each boy had coloring pages and their own labeled box of crayons. Aunt Patsy is super cool!

On our way home from the Messer's to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family, we got a flat tire. My dad and grandpa came to help rescue us and all was good but it was a set back that we wish could've been avoided on the holiday. But we made it home and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with the whole Smith clan.I really wish we all lived closer!