Park City.

 My mom, Sophia, me and Olivia took a little day trip right up to Park City to see my cute Aunt Tiffany.

We went to lunch and then of course shopped for hours and hours.

It was wonderful.

Here is what happens when she shops with mom for 4 straight hours!

Engagement celebration.

I am such a fan of celebrating or at least recognizing all of our anniversaries.

First time we ever saw eachother, first date, first kiss, first hug, engagement day, finding out we were pregnant with Olivia and so much more.

It's just so fun.

And makes me get those butterflies again that I definitely had at those moments.

I just love our love story.

Anyway, to celebrate our engagement anniversary we decided to take one last getaway before the move.

We also wanted to take advantage of our built-in babysitters.

I found this deal on Living Social for an old English bed and breakfast place in Salt Lake city.

So that's what we did.

First, we went to dinner at a little pizza place.

It ended up being pretty good especially since we had been driving around for 45 minutes trying to find a restaurant that we could park at instead of having to park in a lot that charged $10.

On the way back to our place, we stopped at the gas station to get some treats.

We wanted to go to this cute bakery but barely missed it.

Sad.

Right when we got to our room we immediately turned the t.v. on to channel 4.

Because we most definitely watched the Bachelor Finale.

It was pretty good. 

And I've come to the conclusion that I really like Courtney despite the fact that pretty much all of America hates her.

I decided that I would definitely be a brat if I was on a show like that fighting for my Michael.

So I like her, and I hope her and Ben are happy.

Anyway, we had so much fun being together and talking and all that fun stuff that doesn't happen as much with a busy 18 month old.

Michael wanted to sleep with the windows open but I didn't.

Even though we were on the 2nd floor I was still way freaked out about a crazy creeper climbing up a ladder and into our room.

So it stayed close.

And we got kind of hot.

But oh well, at least we were safe!

That morning breakfast was served to us in our room.

It was so good and so fun to be served in bed.

After breakfast we quickly got ready and of course raced home to see the Oli-do-de.

We missed her so much.

And she definitely missed us.

Here are a few pictures:

j

 The English bed/breakfast.

 Our room had a fireplace!

 The happy couple 3 years later!

(Nice cheesy smile Michael)

Watching the Bachelor with our sparkling cider.

So romantic.

I'm grateful for my cute husband and fun overnighters.

And I'm of course grateful for a cute baby girl to come home to.

3 years.

Friday, March 13th 2009 will forever be I day I cherish.

As we celebrate this special day I thought it would be cute to look back at our journal to see exactly what we were both feeling.

Here are a few tidbits:

 (These are random parts of our journals that really stood out to me.)

Michael:

"Well when it was time for the big moment; I took her by the hand and led her up the hill to where we could see the temple and moved to where I was inbetween her and the temple.  I gave her a long hug and I could tell she was nervous because she wouldn’t let go of me because she knew that when she did I was going to pop the question.  Finally I just had to pull away from her and then I got down on one knee and said the following: “My beautiful Bella, you are my starry sky.  It truly was written in the stars that we would find each other and be more than amazing.  You are my motivation and my inspiration and I’m so excited for every moment and memory that God still has written in the stars for us.  Will you marry me?” 

"We had a pretty emotional moment in her room that night.  The Spirit and my love for her were so thick they were overwhelming."

Me:

  "The whole time he was purposing I felt the spirit so strong. I looked at him and everything seemed so familiar. I knew that I had been waiting for this moment for 19 1/2 years. I felt so safe and so good to know that we had finally found each other."

"The feelings were overwhelming. They were really exciting but also very spiritual. I can’t really explain how I felt about Michael by the end of the night. He meant more to me than he had earlier that morning. Everything about him is absolutely perfect for me. Everything he does makes me happy.  I love him so much and I know that my love will only continue to grow stronger and stronger with every moment we spend together or apart. He is a part of my life now and he will be forever! And I couldn’t be more excited about that."

 Sometimes we both get caught up in the hustle and bustle of school, working, being parents, and all the other stresses of life.

But I love looking back on that special day and remembering how much we loved each other and how excited we were to start our life together.

It's been 3 amazing years since then.

Some days, weeks, even months have been hard but one thing I know is that night, I made one of the best decisions of my life.

I said yes to the best man I know.

The man I get to spend forever and ever with.

And I couldn't be happier and more in love.

Happy 3 year engagement day love!

Good friends.

After about 2 years.

We were finally reunited.

Kenzie got home in November from her mission in Texas and it has taken us nearly 4 months to finally get together.

These 2 girls are seriously 2 of my best friends and I'm sure they always will be.

The memories we have together are seriously the best.

I love that even after long periods of time we can get together and talk and laugh like we just saw each other yesterday.

The not knowing how to breath on a horse, the teaching Kenze a new term, getting stuck on Paige's purse, walking into a Coldstone that smelled like vomit, wondering if there were eggs in the cake batter flavored icecream, and the constant laughing about all the crazy things we did made me realize how lucky I am to have good friends.

Sometime, I'll have to post about some of those funny moments.

Pigtails and some funnies.

 

Yes, it is true, she now can have pigtails.

I think her daily head massages worked:)

Ahhh I just love this cute girl.

She's kind of looking like a toddler now.

And definitely acting like one!

Where to begin.

This one is a such a spunky little thing and keeps us on our toes every second she is awake.

Let me just share a few funnies.

So, she has this cute little toothbrush that she loves to brush her teeth with.

Every morning we go into the bathroom and brush our teeth together.

Well after a few days  of watching me she has become a pro at the whole thing.

I was brushing my teeth and leaned over the sink to spit.  As I looked up, I saw her squat right next to me and make the exact sound and spit right onto the floor. 

She was so dang proud of herself.

And I'm not going to lie, despite the puddle of spit on the floor I was proud too.

So every morning when we brush, she proudly does her little squat and spit every time I do.

I love it!

As I'm sure I've shared in previous posts, she can be a bit violent.

Which I will admit she got from me.

(It's a little embarrassing watching my family videos!)

So...she was nicely playing with her toys as Michael and I were sitting on the carpet next to her watching.

Well Michael decided to grab her and put her on his stomach.

Well she was not happy about this at all and immediately started squeeling and flopping around.

(Michael was in a teasing mood and wouldn't let her down.)

So I stepped in to save her and told him to let her go.

So he did.

And just as she sat up she lifted her little arm up and slapped him right in the face.

And this wasn't just a little baby slap.

It was a full on loud hard slap.

Well what we should have done was grabbed her arm and told her "No, do not hit daddy."

But we couldn't.

We were both practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

Sad, bad parent award right here.

Well after a couple seconds we realized we better get control of ourselves so that we could try and help teach her not to hit.

I have no idea how we are going to teach this child if every time she does something naughty we laugh.

It is just so dang funny to see this little mini thing be so stubborn and get so mad.

But we will do better:)

She can also be very loving at the same time. She loves to give long tight hugs.

I think that might be one reason behind the hitting. Because she knows right after she hits that she needs to say sorry and give a big hug.

Maybe that's why she hits?!

Olivia loves to play peekaboo with Michael before bed.

Michael will say, "Where's Olivia?" 

And she will pull the covers over her little head and then pull them down when he says, "there she is!!"

Well one afternoon, they were playing and after a couple times he said, "Where's Olivia?"

And no response.

So he said it again.

And nothing.

So, he lifted back the covers and she was completely zonked haha.

Funny little thing.

Anytime she sees a door open  she will immediately run over to it and close it no matter what she is doing.

Lately, she likes to say "num num" after she eats something good.

She sounds exactly like one of those wookie bears from Starwars haha.

We have this full length mirror right outside our bedroom.

She loves to look at herself in it right before bathtime.

She will stand right in front of it and say, "mee."

She also likes to suck her little Budda tummy in and out and give herself kisses.

That's all for now.

I know there's more.

Cause every moment with that girl is simply the best.

She is always putting a smile on her dad and I's face.

We love her so very much.

And feel so blessed that she's ours.

It snowed, so we played!

It finally decided to snow enough for us to take Olivia out to play.

So we bundled her up in lots and lots of layers of clothes.

Including the very snowsuit I wore when I was a baby!

We got a little sled for her and went out back to send her down sledding for her very first time.

I went first to make a path.

And to make sure it wouldn't be too fast.

And then it was her turn.

Here she is.

Isn't she just the cutest?!

Yay Olivia!!

So in love with those cheeks!

She was a little scared of the snow.

She did not like to walk in it by herself.

Only if we held her hand.

But one thing she did LOVE was eating it!

She sat like this for the longest time shoving it in her mouth.

(Don't worry this snow looks dirty, but I made sure to only give her the fresh snow).

I love the back of her in this snowsuit.

It makes me laugh so hard.

As always, thrilled to be outside!

And walking on the sidewalk, not the snow!

I love my little fluffy puffy girl.

She's the best!

Just a few tidbits.

Random life happenings for us.

I still work around 20 hours a week.

Michael will also be working for my dad on the days I don't work for the next 2 weeks.

Extra money, woot!

I still enjoy my Monday Bachelor night, even though this season is definitely not a favorite.

Our Monday schedules are definitely arranged so that all is settled down by 6:57 pm.

I'm not even kidding.

 I really enjoy the commercials or kissing breaks as Michael and I like to call them:)

Michael and I have become huge Uno players again.

We play at least 2 sets of 3 games every single night.

We've also been taking advantage of our built in babysitters, since there is only 2 months left.

Tuesday movie nights, dinner dates, and treat runs.

It's really a blast.

Where to begin with Olivia,

She's a real hoot.

New words: star "tar",  and stuck "stu", toes "tozzz", mail "mai".

Recently she's decided that she is not a fan of sad, soft music.

Michael just randomly started singing a song about a light house (EFY) and her little lip just started quivering and she let out the saddest cry you've ever heard.  

Really if you sing the abcs in a soft pretty voice she just bursts out bawling and in that very same minute you can start happily singing the itsy bitsy spider and she is dying of laughter.

Yep, sometimes we just have no idea what is going on in that cute little head.

I justify my time spent on Pinterest by meal planning each week off of my food boards.

And doing my workouts 3 times a week from workout plans on there.

So grateful for tax returns.

Just found out that we are not selling in Santa Monica but in Santa Clarita!

We're still fairly close to the beach so no worries:)

Even though our lives are a bit crazy and up in the air right now, I am just so grateful for Michael.

He makes me laugh every single day and it's just so wonderful to be married to my best friend.

And I'm of course so grateful for my Olivia. 

She makes everyday an exciting adventure.

I can't even begin explain how much being her mom means to me.

It's simply the best thing ever.

Doing her little nose scrunch.

And now it is a beautiful smile.

These are the squishy hugs and wet kisses I get every single day.

Oh how I love her.

Giggle bellies.

If you haven't heard of the giggle bellies and you have a small child, it's time.

Michael's aunt introduced them to me a while back and I of course showed them to Olivia.

And she loves them.

The music is so fun and all the little characters are so colorful.

Some of them are a little creepy looking haha.

But I don't think Olivia feels the same.

She will honestly sit and watch them for about 20 minutes.

Which is a record in her books.

Right now we just watch some of the songs on youtube.

But for Easter we plan on buying her the dvds.

It's one of those quickly turn on things when there is a freak out.

And immediately she becomes a happier baby.

She's learning new words and all the cute little children songs at the same time.

I'm a fan.

And of course Olivia is too!

Her messy hair.

Ahhh I love it so much.

I think it is almost long enough for pig tails.

Yay!

 

Ready for bed.

Aren't ready for bed babies just the best?

I love this little one when she is all clean and smells of the heavenly baby lotion and oil.

Oh my gosh.

And I freaking just want to cuddle her close in her soft little pajamas.

Don't get me wrong, I love this little one at all times of the day and night.

But there is something about right before bed that just makes me want to squish this little one and kiss her plump rosy cheeks forever.

I love my baby girl.

But I must stop talking about her and looking at this picture because I am extremely tempted to go into her room and just wake her up!

But she needs her beauty and good mood sleep.

So I won't.

I'm thinking I'm still going to go take a little peep though:)

Love moment.

 

Tonight, while reading this with Michael, I had one of those butterfly madly in love moments.

The your so dang hot moments where you can't take your eyes of them.

It was wonderful.

And made it kind of difficult to focus on reading.

I kind of just wanted to stare.

I am just so happy that 2 1/2 years later, I still get the little love flutters in my stomach.

Oh how I love being in love with my boy.

Olivia.

Let's talk a little bit about her.

And some of the new things she's doing.

*Lately, she laughs and cries at the same time. A little strange right? But it is hilarious.

For example, I will lay her down to change her diaper and she will start crying and within a matter of seconds that cry turns to full on busting up, and then back to crying and so forth. 

It's quite entertaining:)

*She's obsessed with socks ("das"), and shoes ("sooz"). She loves to put them on and play with them.  She tries very hard to put on her own socks. And is getting close. She also loves to put on me and Michael's shoes and then try to walk in them. We'll just say that doesn't work well for her!

*She loves going places. Whether it is outside to play basketball ("ba") with dad or to uncle Emerson's basketball games, the grocery store with mom or grandma "ma", taking the garbage out or really anywhere that isn't home. In the morning when the twins and Harrison leave for school she always latches on to them hoping that they will take her with them. When they leave, she always runs to the front door crying. She's an adventurous little thing and just loves to be out and about and apart of everything.

*Her new favorite bath toy is her duck ("du").

*She absolutely loves candy. And will always be seen doing the sign for it.

*She loves to help clean, do laundry, and vacuum.  She loves putting things away in her laundry basket even if it isn't clothes!
*She says boom, "boovs"  bye bye "bye byes", turtle "tuts", yucky, "by spitting and making a grossed out face, Jesus "jes" or "jezus", cheese "cheeze", duck "du" door "dor", stairs, banana "nan" or "bbbb". And loves to repeat the last word that you say.

*One of the first things she gets into is my wallet.  She loves to empty all my cards out and play with them.

*She loves babies and little kids.  And will do the rocking motion with her hands and say, "MMMMmmmm" whenever she sees a baby or someone talks about one.

"She loves to give her little squeeze hugs all the time.  Sometimes when I lay her down to change her she holds her little arms up and I go down and she gives me just the longest squishiest hug. She also makes the same little "MMMmmmm" sound.

It makes my day.

She is getting so good at understanding everything I say to her. And although she is speaking sentences she makes it very clear to us what she needs and wants.

She is learning things so quickly and I can tell she is watching everything everyone does so carefully.

 Which means I better start watching myself:)

We love her so much.

I can't imagine where we'd be without her.

She is such a sweet little joy that we get to love every second of every day.

I'm grateful for her and for her spunkiness, hilariousness, independence, hugs and kisses.

She makes those not so good days, perfect days.

She glares now.

 Recently, our little Olivia has decided that she likes to glare at anyone that doesn't do exactly what she wants.

Or if she is getting into something and we say, "no no Olivia."

We get the face.

And we seriously just bust up.

I don't know if we will ever be able to punish this child when she makes a face like that.

We just can't take her seriously.

She does it all the time and we can't get enough of it.

Sometimes we will say "no no" just to get the face.

I know we are such teasers.

But it really is the best.

Where this child learned to glare, I have no idea:)

A very happy Valentines day.

Let me just start off by saying.

I absolutely love Valentines Day.

I just love the heart sugar cookies, the red, pink, and purple, the valentines, and overall having an official day just to celebrate love.

But mostly I just love knowing that I have my very own valentine.

And that he's mine forever.

It's pretty romantic.

And let me just tell you, I absolutely LOVE my valentine.

He is just the cutest.

And made my day the very best.

I'll tell you what we did in pictures:

My boy took us to Kneaders for breakfast.

The all you can eat cinnamon french toast with strawberries and whipped cream is to die for.

(You can tell it is morning by the looks of Michael's hair!)

Me and baby girl.

She is saying cheese by the way!

 What is Valentine's Day without chocolate right?

Well this little chocolate bar is the best ever.

I could eat 10 of these and not get sick.

Thanks Michael!

Daddy giving Olivia her rose.

She didn't really like it though.

She started hitting it.

And then started crying.

Sad.
I think she was in a bad mood.

Cause a while later, she wanted to smell it.

Funny story:

Michael went to a flower shop to get Olivia and me a rose. When he asked the lady for 2 roses wrapped separately, she was like, "oh you have 2 valentines?" Michael said, "yes, their names are Isabella and Olivia." The lady looked kind of surprised, so Michael said, "they are for my wife and daughter." And she was like, "Oh my gosh! I did not think you were old enough to be married, let alone have a baby!"

Haha, oh my gosh. 

The 2nd time in 4 days that Michael has been mistaken for a highschooler!
That makes me laugh.

Us girls with our pretty roses.

Olivia handed out her valentines to everyone.

She was so cute about it.

And would actually hand one to each person with just the cutest smile, but then start doing the candy sign after and reaching for it.

I don't think she liked giving away her favorite candy. (Smarties).
Apparently it's time to start teaching her about Indian giving.

Remember last post how I talked about Olivia giving the best squeeze hugs?

Well here she is giving me one.

Ahhh, I just love them.

The night finished out with Michael's final 2 presents to me.

I simply must share both, however I am sure some will laugh at my first one.

But seriously to me, it is the very best present ever.

If it actually happens:)

So, ever since I was 6 years old I always said, I will name my first baby girl Clara.

And I continued to say that until I got pregnant and we found out it was a girl. There was never any question as to what her name would be. It was always Olivia.

And I absolutely love that name, but I still want a baby Clara.

The sad thing about this is, that Michael really doesn't like it.

AT ALL.

And has told me from day one that we will not name any of our girls Clara. 

And that we would find other names that we both liked.

Cause we do have a pretty decent list.

But I just still can not stop thinking about that name. 

I  love it.

So....for valentines day, Michael told me that after a lot of thought and because he just loves me so much, he had decided that he would let me name our next girl (if we have one) Clara.

Yep best present ever!
I just love how well he knows me.
Even if what I like is a bit cheesy:)

Late that night he took me to see the Vow.
I really really liked it.
And I really really liked laying in his arms holding his hand the entire time.

It was definitely a very happy Valentines day.
Oh how I love my boy!

P.s. Not to worry, Michael did not walk away empty handed. Being the very generous wife that I am, I walked through wet mud to purchase him a gift certificate to golf.
Yep, he was dang excited.
And just loves me so much.

Sleeping beauty.

Every night, we sneek in at least once just to get a quick peek at our sleeping beauty.

Sometimes we find in her in just the cutest positions.

I think what we like about this most is just looking at our beautiful baby sleeping so peacefully and realizing what a precious blessing she is to us.

And that she's ours.

And that we get to be her mom and dad.

I am so grateful for this.

So grateful for everything this 16 month old baby has already taught me.

She has started giving just the very best hugs.

She wraps her little arms tightly around your neck and squeezes.

I could seriously get them all day.

The best part of this perfect hug is knowing that she knows I'm her mom and that I love her more than anything else.

And that she loves me back just the same.

Pre V-day.

The little sweets dressed in red for church.

(Sorry about the blurriness).

Helping mom make sugar cookies.

(We tried substituting Greek yogurt for the shortening.)

They tasted amazing.

So excited for Valentines Day!

Baby girl love.

Sometimes there are just those days when I can not stop taking pictures of this girl.

Her silly and so very cute facial expressions are just the best things ever.

She loves the outside more than really anything else.

And could probably play out there all day.

Lucky for her it has been such good weather here that she can even go out with out a puffer coat.

She loves jumping on the tramp (oh her little jump is the cutest), playing soccer (her little kick is just the cutest), throwing the ball, running around literally nonstop, and trying to find doggies and birds.

Here are some cute pictures of this crazy one. 

Some are very silly.

But vintage Olivia.

I know I say this all the time.

But I'm grateful for this baby girl.

She really is our little sunshine.

And just makes everyday a beautiful day.