She Lost a Tooth...

It was bittersweet.  Finnley lost her first tooth this past Sunday.  It had been a little wiggly for a while, but she decided she wanted it out and started to really work it.  I told her to stop, and that she wasn't allowed to lose a tooth and grow up anymore than she already has.  She didn't listen.  She worked it and worked it, until the next thing I knew, she was in the bathroom with dad getting tips on how to loosen it even more.  She had it out in no time and was, well, excited would be an understatement.  

She wanted to take it to school the next day and show her class (gross, i know!) so, she didn't put it under her pillow until the next night.  She wrote a little note to the tooth fairy, asking if she could keep her tooth.  She now has the cutest little toothless grin, in which she is constantly sticking her tongue, straws, and anything that will fit, through the gap.  Who knows...she may be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" come December.

Timp Half Marathon

 

While I was in Utah in July, I decided to run the Timpanogos Half Marathon.  It was such a great half, so well organized, and absolutely gorgeous.  I had a great run and ended up with a personal record, which I can't complain about.  It was fun running into friends at the finish line and quickly catching up.  I miss doing beautiful runs in Utah, so I was thrilled about being able to squeeze one into my crazy action-packed week.

It doesn't get much prettier than watching the sun rise and hit the top of Mt. Timp and then running down American Fork Canyon with a light drizzle.  Perfect run, perfect day, perfect place.  I'm going to have to make sure and hit this one again next year!

Somebody turned Thirty....

 

This was a big year in the birthday department!  I turned, wait for it...THIRTY!

I think my biggest struggle with turning thirty is that, inside, I still feel like a twenty year old.  But, then I see somebody who actually is twenty and I realize, "ya, you're not twenty anymore." Darn.

 

Mitch went all out this year for my birthday bash.  He planned a secret trip down to Florida for our little family, and we had a blast!  We left New York with it's 45 degree weather, and arrived to hot, humid Florida at 85 degrees.  It felt good. 

 

For the most part we beached it and pooled it.  The kids played hard, we played hard, and crashed every night.  We played tennis in the mornings, looked for crabs and turtles at night, and even made it to Disney World (we couldn't stay away from Disney for too long)! 

Here are a few snapshots for our trip....

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She must be my girl...Cheetos in each hand!

 

 

 

And...to finish it off, an angel food cake with strawberries, my favorite!

Thank you Mitch for planning such a fun week for our family to be together.

Let's Eat Cake...

Our little Remi girl turned ONE years old on February 9th.  Fastest year of my life!  We celebrated by staying indoors and being snowed-in - we had just "survived" winter storm Nemo.  Man do East Coasters not know how to deal with snow, but that's another post.  After a morning of presents, playing in the snow, and naps (yes, all of us) it was time for the fun part - the cake.  

Remi was not shy, and dug right in.  That's my girl!  She double fisted that baby in her mouth like there was no tomorrow.  

The "smash" cake.

Mesmerized by the candle.

After her first taste, there was no going back.

What do you think?  Did she like it?

We also gave Remi another birthday present.  We changed the spelling of her name.  I'm not sure exactly what sparked it, but for some time I had liked the spelling Remi better than Remmy.  One day I just decided to change it for real.  My mother-in-law pointed out it was better to do it before she learned to spell her name, so we did.

At ONE YEARS OLD, Remi is still the sweetest baby known to man.  She is crawling all over, pulling herself up, and walking with the mini shopping cart.  She loves her brother and sister and they can get the best gut laughs out of her.  She has two teeth on the bottom, and recently broke two on the top.  Something you may not know....Remi has a little tumor in her neck.  We are currently in the process of determining exactly what it is, but it is most likely a benign neoplasm, or hemangioma in her submandibular gland.  She loves books, and practically throws herself out of my arms to reach the books on the shelf in her room.  She is a decent sleeper, but usually gets woken up by her overly-eager brother who cant stand to let her sleep past him.  She is super social, and waves at any and all people we pass.  She often gets the giggles in sacrament meeting, providing entertainment for the congregation.  

We love our little Remster, Remikins, Remmers, Remi-booth!  Happy Birthday sweet thing.

Picking Up the Tree...

For the past four years, we've always gone home for Christmas.  We usually left around December 12th, so it wasn't really worth it to pull out the Christmas decor or buy a tree.  So, since we were staying put this year, we were all very excited to bring home a live Christmas tree.  We drove to our local Christmas tree farm, and walked the isles looking for the perfect tree.  Everyone gave their imput, and we decided on a beautiful tree - that smelled sooo good!

We all enjoyed trimming the tree, and sitting by it's soft light all month long.  I felt like we were a legitimate family since we finally had a Christmas tree.  We really did have such a great month celebrating as a family and feeling the Christmas spirit.