Old St. Nick

Thanks to Granny Smith Damon got to have an official visit with Santa! :)

One Cute Bunch of Cousins

Just before Christmas we were able to go visit Darren's family in Idaho and as usual had a great time. It's tradition that we make Darren's dad dance to this silly Christmas soldier song every year. This time turned it back on us and got a little pay back... after his performance he blasted 'Christmas in Hollis' by Run D.M.C and made all of us dance to it. We might have to make it a new tradition because it was loads of fun.

Damon and his sweet little cousin who's obviously in a lower weight class than him even though she's got a good two months on him ;)

It's fun that the 'big kids' are so cute and love hanging out with little 'D'.

The Real Beef Stroganoff

When Darren and I were first married he suggested we make Beef Stroganoff for dinner. To which I replied "we can't, we don't have any hamburger". He quickly informed me that 'Hamburger Helper' is not beef stroganoff. In fact, there is the real home made kind that is actually quite a delight to eat.

Now almost three years later we were making the real beef stroganoff (which isn't a quick meal). We were both in a state of near starvation by the time it was finished. Unfortunately my hunger got the best of me and as I tried to quickly whip it out of the oven it all slipped right out of the baking dish :(

Sad day... the real beef stroganoff and no one to enjoy it but the oven.

Uncle Rory Comes to Town

My brother Rory is in the Marines and just finished a tour in Afganistan. We were so excited he was able to break away from his home in North Carolina to come out and visit for a couple weeks! He and Damon are buddies already. :)

Damon's 1st Hockey Game

We took Damon to his first Grizzlies game and he actually loved it! He thought it was great to have so many people in one place clapping (he loves clapping).

Our little dino!

Another one of the little man!

Thank you Uncle Curtis

My brother in law Curtis fixed our blog (that I broke) and I'm so happy I feel as if I owe him a public THANK YOU!

Dad and Damon

I got called into work last minute... and well... when that happens I have to bring Damon with me (he's getting old but not quite old enough to man the house all on his own). Anyway, I was waiting in the studio to take some pictures of employees and decided to shoot a few of Damon rather than sit and twiddle my thumbs. I haven't had time to sort through all of them but thought I'd post one of my favorites:) Aren't they just so handsome!?

...more to come :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I love Halloween and somehow was able to talk Darren into humoring me by dressing up. Don't we make the perfect little look-a-likes!? I think Sabastian takes the cake though. :)

Help... I'm a terrible blogger

Ok, so the other day I tried to update our blog template. Somehow it reverted back to an obnoxious one we've had in the past. I couldn't figure it out so I gave up for the time being. Now, this morning I gave it another try. I managed to get rid of the obnoxious background and get back to the Minima template..... However, I also managed to delete all my settings. I thought, well this is a pain but I can re-set them up. Problem is... the Layout button/tab is completely gone. That is where I updated everything. Does anyone know how I get that back? The biggest concern is the list of blogs I had on the side. I'd like to continue to visit those blogs but I certainly don't know the names of all of them by heart. OH DEAR... I REALLY MESSED THINGS UP THIS TIME.

Please let me know if you can assist my poor technically challenged self. WOW.

At what age does this stop being cute?

Yes, these are Damon's actual thighs :)

Look what I can do

Damon's bottles are glass (thus heavier than the average)... yet he still manages to get them in his mouth and hold them up if it means he gets fed.

Is it bright in here or is it just me?

Damon has this new thing where he doesn't like the light in his eyes when he falls asleep.  It's kind of adorable if you ask me.

For those of us who can't surf

Our past weekend in California was a BLAST!  We got to meet up with Katie and it was SO much fun.

But I can't read

Our niece Ava asked if she could read Damon a story.  After I agreed she informed me "Well Aunt Kelli, I can't really read".  Her mom had the brilliant idea of her telling her favorite princess story to Damon since she knows what happens just by looking at the pictures.  

Unfortunately for Darren... Damon loved the princess story told by a little princess herself.

Picture this!

This my friends is a grasshopper.  Although a harmless creature it gives me a good case of the eeby jeebies!  Now.... picture this if you will.

Think of just how hippidy hoppidy grasshoppers are.  Now think of these hippidy hoppidy creatures flying fully speed at YOU (yes you) and hippidy hopping themselves where ever they please, even inside your clothing (yes, inside your clothing).  EEEEEK!  Darren and I enjoy 4wheeling so we thought we'd go out for a little ride on our most recent trip to his parents house.  They warned me I'd have to wear sunglasses because there's a bit of a bug problem this time of year.  A BIT OF A BUG PROBLEM!?  Oh my goodness I wished I could jump right out my skin.  I also wish I were a cool tough wife that didn't freak out about silly things like grasshoppers... but I FREAKED!  I practically jumped off my 4wheeler as I was driving.

Needless to say, our ride was short and I'm not going back out until grasshoppers are out of season.

Country Fun

Darren's parents live out in Idaho and it's been a lot of fun visiting and enjoying the Good Ol' Outdoors.

It turns out I'm a terrible shot (shocking I know)

I least I know how to drive a 4wheeler

 

Happy Birthday 2mE

My mom's the BEST... she made me a three layer brownie cake with cream cheese frosting (just what a gal needs on her birthday).

Sunday Best

I can't get over how cute I think Damon is when he's all dressed up for church.

The Bumbo

Damon loves his Bumbo.  

FULL OF PERSONALITY

Outdoor Symphony

For our work summer party we went to the Deer Valley Summer Outdoor Concert Series.  We went for the Utah Symphony's version of 1812 Overture.  AMAZING!

Swimming with the Gals

Back Yard BBQ

For those of you who know me... know that I love to be outside.  I can't wait for the day when I have my very own backyard.  However, for the time being I'm perfectly OK with using the backyard I share with the rest of my complex.  Even if it's not the normal thing to do ;)

Stepping Stones

Plaster stepping stones with imprints of little fingers and toes are not only adorable, priceless, and something every grandma would love to have.... they are WAY messier than anticipated and definitely not a child friendly craft as it states on the box... but we did have a good time.

4th of July UPDATE

So... I found some more 4th of July pics I thought I'd share.

This is our niece Aeydn and she doesn't actually like fireworks

Damon is an amazing little boy who is so even tempered (most of the time) :)

Such a fun shot... I wish we could say we planned it

Andi and I being... well... Andi and I

THREE MONTHS OLD

Mom's will always tell you that time goes by so fast with kids.  I always thought I knew what they were talking about. However, now I realize how truly fast it zips by without warning.  I cannot believe Damon is already there months old.  I know I'm partial but I have to say he's a pretty darn cute kid.  Darren and I are SO blessed to have him.  We couldn't ask for a better little boy.  He reminds me SO much of his dad... so even tempered, chill, and happy.  I was really lucky to be able to stay home with him for the twelve weeks of my maternity leave.  However, on July 23rd I went back to work and have been working full time ever since.  I have to say being a working mom is harder than I ever though it would be.  I owe my mom HUGE thanks because she worked as we grew up and I never have given her enough credit for all she was able to accomplish.  Since the day I went back to work I feel like everything else got put on hold.  Our poor house is a disaster area, we have laundry piled practically to the ceiling, I'm not sure I remember the last time I made dinner... the list goes on.  Basically I just want to say 'thank you' to all the working moms out there.  It is much tougher than it appears on the outside.  Silly me... I thought I'd be 'Super Mom' and juggle it all.  

However, I am SO grateful for 3 really amazing things...

1st - Grandmas, Grandpas, Neighbors, and Friends who so graciously have come to my rescue to watch Damon while I'm at the office.

2nd - A husband who helps SO much with Damon and around the house.

3rd - An amazing company and boss that I am so privileged to work for.  When I first found out I was pregnant I knew I didn't want to work full time.  I decided to do a very bold thing.  I went into by bosses office and told him I would like to work part time from home in the Marketing Department where I would specialize in doing photography and anything else they needed help with.  Keep in mind I was essentially creating a position for myself that didn't exist.  Well, in this case bold paid off because my wish was granted upon one condition.  I was to come back after Maternity Leave and work full time for 2-4 weeks as I trained my replacement.  - - Now, here I am 2.5 weeks into my work and I have 1.5 to go.  Little did I know they were going to hire the most outstanding person to fill my position... Someone my boss had worked with at a former company for years...  Someone much more qualified than I... Someone that would get along so well with my team... Someone I love more than anyone else in the whole world...

Yes, oddly enough Darren is now going to work at Unicity and I have a sneaking suspicion he is going to love it!  No more 70 hour work weeks for him :)

LIFE IS GOOD!

NAP TIME

Dad and Damon taking a nap.

DAMON'S BLESSING

PEOPLE ARE SO GREAT!

We had Damon's Blessing on the weekend of the 4th and I couldn't believe how many people drove SO far to come support us.  Thanks to everyone :)

Isaac and Trey playing on the tire swing.

Darren's fam... (minus Cory, Kimberly, and Kiara who live in texas).

If my family is looking at this... sorry we didn't think to take a picture with you (we still love ya!)

4th OF JULY

As usual 4th of July was a blast.  We had a BBQ in my Dad and Joni's backyard.  It was great because all the Cedar City folk were up for the event.

Thanks to Curtis for the adorable pics and Joni for the matching child ware :)

DAMON'S OFFICIALLY A CHURCH GOER

This time Damon had somewhere to go when he got all dressed up.  Isn't he cute for his very 1st Sunday at church?  Thanks to Pat and Paula for his cute pin striped overalls :)

I must say Damon did SO good for his first Sunday.  However, we did learn that he DOES NOT like the organ.  He was sitting so perfect and content and the second the organ started he burst into frantic tears (so sad).  After we calmed him down he was doing great until the next unsettling noise.  Let's be honest why do the church buzzers/bells have to be so obnoxious anyway?  Poor kid was so scared when that went off he didn't know what to do.  

But now after several weeks at church those sounds are like old news and he does just fine.

CEDAR CITY ISN'T SO BAD AFTER ALL (take 2)...

We have now officially made our second trip to Cedar City (they place that steals our family members faster than should be legally allowed).  It all started out with Andi moving down there to join her cute husband Curtis.  As if that wasn't bad enough Shawni & Trevor soon followed in their rascally footsteps.  Unfortunately Kyli decided to take the rascally route as well and headed down there for school.  Thanks to her, the majority of our family are official residents of Cedar City, UT... which means... you guessed it... we'll be taking more than just two trips down south.

It really isn't so bad... it's just a little frustrating that it's so far away.  I always thought Andi and I would live close enough to borrow eggs from each other when we got the last minute urge to bake fudge brownies on a Sunday.  Alas, she has chose her husband over the girl with the extra eggs.

Anyway, here are a few photos of the trip. 

Aedyn just loves baby Damon
It's a good thing I know my dad isn't computer literate enough to blog.  He'd probably kill me if he knew I put a picture of him in his pj's on the internet for all to see.  ;)
Aedyn listening French lessons on grandpa's ipod.