Little Green Monster!

I know, I am late... actually a whole month late for this post, but I have good excuses. Smile.

Blake turned 1 on Sept. 27th 2008. He has been such a sweet baby from Day 1. I am absolutely smitten by this kid. He has me and Jim wrapped around his fat finger. We are whipped and love every waking minute of it.

Happy Birthday to our Little Green Monster!!










Off to the tub you go!!

FYI~ Blake just had his 1 year check up. He weighs a little over 27 pounds at 95% and height is 32 inches at 97.7%. His head size is 18.5 inches at 69%!! So Blake is a very LARGE kid. Our little chuncky monkey!!

The Windy City

CHICAGO here we come!

I was able to go with Jim, his boss Scott and his wife Taryn to Chicago. Jim and Scott attended an Ear, Nose, and Throat Conference for work. (Lot's of nerdy Doctors) Taryn and I just happened to tag along for free. It was very nice!!

Special thanks to Sue, who watched all 3 kids for a week. Thank You!

My bags are packed, and ready to go. But something is missing... my babies! Especially my little Blake. Whom I have never left before. It felt so wierd not having the double stroller and diaper bag attached to me all week.

Yet, while I missed my children, Jim and I really enjoyed ourselves. It is always nice to spend time alone with Jim. To reconnect and enjoy each other's company as adults, with no kids to interupt conversation. It was Fantastic!!

Our Hotel



The view from our hotel. It looked over Navy Pier and Lake Michigan. So beautiful!!





Wrigley Field. GO CUBS!





Michigan Ave. "The Magnificent Mile" (Oh, the best shopping strip ever!)








Oh how I love the Daly boys and their obsession with fast and fancy cars!



SUNDAY. Taryn and I took a half hour cab ride to the nearest church. It turned out to be Stake Conference, so we then took another half hour ride to the Stake Center. Luckily, we made it just in time for the meeting to start. It just so happened that Elder L. Tom Perry was there and spoke to the members. It was so awesome to listen to a twelve apostle in person and to meet him. Well worth the hour long cab drive and ridiculous cab fee.



The National History Museum








Millineum Park and the famous BEAN!







Kitty O'Sheas Irish Pub



Lake Michigan is so so so beautiful! I was bummed, the one day we went down with the camera it was overcast. I had ran this path a couple days prior and it was clear, blue skies and just gorgeous. Definately my favorite run thus far! (I know, can you believe I actually enjoyed running for once)







Chicago Style Pizza! YUM!





10 Pounds later! It is good to be home. But Chicago is a hard city to beat! It was great food, clean and lot's of great shopping. Well worth a visit. It was a blast!!

Some Of My Favs From The NEW Camera

Finally A New Camera

Ok! So Jim and I have always secretly wished we were photographers. So the first chance we get, that is running into some extra cash. We finally are abe to buy a nice camera.

I mean really nice! No more CHEAP digital cameras where the batteries die after 5days, it only holds 20 pictures, and you have to wait 30 seconds before you can take the next picture. You know what I mean?

So goodbye to the old camera and hello to our new Sony A200.

Just to brag a little. It holds over 1000 pictures at 10 mega pixals. You can just keep on pushing the button and snapping shots off instantly. Plus the battery is rechargeable and lasts a really, really long time.

AHH, finally my dream camera!

Birthday Girl!

One Year Old



Two Years Old



Three Years Old



Four Years Old



Five Years Old



Six Years Old



As the years go by, I vividly remember holding Kallie in my arms for the first time. With tears in my eyes, I thought, "where is the instruction manual for this baby."

Although 6 years have passed and I still sometimes have recurring doubts as a mother. I can honestly say, Kallie is overall thriving and such a sweet spirit to have in our house.

Kallie is honest, kind, helpful, and smart. Jim and I love her so much and can't wait for all the fun filled years to come.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Kallie Lou!!

Baptism By Fire

As I am tucking Kallie in bed. I ask her if she is excited about her birthday tomorrow. She of course replies, "yes"

A few seconds later.

"Mom, I don't want to get baptized when I am 8." My reply of course is to try and change her mind. "Oh but Kallie it is awesome to get baptized. Your sins are washed away and you get to wear a white beautiful dress" (hoping that will change her mind)

Nope, her simple yet firm reply is, "No, mom! I don't want my skin washed away, that would hurt."

That's a weird baptism, maybe by fire your skin would fall off. That's a new thought to Baptism by fire. My silly cute almost birthday girl.

Kallie's First Day Of School

Ever since moving to Utah, I feel like our family has been blessed in many ways. One of them being Kallie starting Kindergarten all over again. Definitely I feel it is a blessing in disguise. But still a blessing!

Last year, Kallie had gone to kindergarten in CA for half the year. Then moving to Utah put a damper on kindergarten. Of course, at first I was very upset that she missed the deadline by 3 lousy days. So she went to preschool instead and had to wait for the next year for kindergarten.

Well, that day is here... finally! Kallie was so excited to go to school and ride the bus. (Which I never would let her do in CA) Plus, she has her cousin Tyler in her class. They play so well together and have become the best of friends.

I am so grateful for that little bump in the road. Kallie is now older and has a little bit of a head start, not to mention her cousin to do it with her. It was just meant to be. I truly feel like everything has finally fallen in place!