It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So we took Kirsten to see Santa....

It didn't go over so well. Audrey might be getting all the presents this year.

Also it snowed a lot here in Vernal. Kirsten is a huge fan of the snow. She especailly loves walking through it. Sidewalks are for whimps, she always insists on walking right through the snow...and using the same tracks twice is lame, she always makes new tracks. She played outside in the snow for an hour tonight and didn't whine once. When she finally came inside she had snow up her sleeves and in her boots but being cold is a small price to pay for fun in the snow. Also she loves to eat snow. We found her licking the bottom of her boots like an icecream cone.

And the truth comes out

A month ago life was perfect. We had decided to go ahead and look into buying a house in St George. It didn't take long to find a home we loved. 4 bed 3 bath and the cutest playroom. Our dream home.
We were able to move the sale of the home along quickly and were planning to close in a week and a half. We could move in by the end of November! We were estactic at the thoughts of having thanksgiving in our new home. We gave notice to our rental house that we would be moving out at the end of the month. Kirk and I were officially grown-ups. We had two kids, a career, buying a house, I stayed home and made crafts...the life we've dreamed about for four years was ours.

Half a week later Kirk lost his job.

His company was under new management and decided to down size. And since he was one of the new guys he was let go. He was working on something for the company that no one else knew how to do, so he was offered some contract work. We were also blessed to get a small severants package. Luckily we were still days away from closing on our house. But as of the end of November we no longer had a place to live. So we packed and cleaned our house, moved all of our stuff into a storage unit, and with our heads held as high as we could muster moved in with my parents.

We have been living in Vernal since the weekend before thanksgiving. We are happy here. It feels like we are on vacation. We are lucky to be home for the holidays. (Although I am a little bitter about enduring St George heat 9 monts pregnant only to move away as winter gets started) It's awesome to be around my sisters who make me go walking with them at 6:00 in the morning when it's -4 degrees (no joke) and take me to the movies for a girls night. The girls are doing fine. Kirsten spends most her time by the back door adoring my parents new puppy. Kirk has applied for jobs all along the wasatch front, Logan, and Vernal. He has had one interview in Vegas but we haven't heard back on anything. Tough tough economy.

My parents have been wonderful about us moving in. Chelsey (senior in high school) is the only one home and they were disliking the empty home feeling. We don't plan to stay here long, but aren't sure where to move until we have a job.

It was incredibly hard to leave St George and all of our dreams there. I pretty much cried for a week straight. But it is wonderful to be around family and we are having faith that something will work out soon. If you would remember us in your prayers we would appreciate it.

And as it's Christmas card season our temporary address is:
3433 West 1000 North
Vernal, UT 84078

Monday night blogging

Kirsten got this pair of shoes from her Nana last spring. In June, when she realized she could put them on herself, they quickly became her favorite pair of shoes. She has had at least 8 different pairs of shoes since she got this pair, all of which have been ripped off her feet and replaced by these purple croc imitations. Even when the previous pair match her outfit and these clash terribly. I've tried hiding them, but she hunts them down. They are the only pair of shoes she doesn't rip off as soon as we get in the car (even when she is bored enough to take them off she then lovingly holds them until its time to put them back on and get out of the car). She wears them to bed and tries to wear them in the bathtub. They are a size too small now and I am letting her wear them everywhere before I retire them for the winter.
Farewell favorite pair of shoes.

I got some adorable pictures of Audrey smiling today. She is so smiley and happy. She coos and laughs all the time. fyi: her tummy is VERY ticklish

 Most days around 3:30 I am loading my girls into the car to head to a local park to play until Kirk gets off work. Kirsten's favorite are the swings. Swings first, then slides, then back to the swings before going home. I love these pictures, I think they show the joy of swinging perfectly!

My little mama!!!

Kirsten Sue is the cutest little girl. She absolutely loves the movie Cars, no matter how many times I try to put in Cinderella or Little Mermaid! And airplanes, she could live outside just to watch the airplanes fly by. But she loves her baby dolls the most. She always has at least one in arm. Baby dolls are treated pretty well around here. They get bathed, fed, tummy time, noses wiped, diapers changed, swaddled and put down for a nap, buckled into car seats, and even assisted in blowing us kisses goodnight. Yes Kirsten sue takes very good care of her baby dolls.

2 months

(I've officially decided a car seat is the best position to take pictures of babies...next time I will use a blanket or sheet to make it look prettier, no worries)

We went to the doctor yesterday
Kirsten is in the 33% for her weight and 95% for her height
Weighing in at almost 24 lbs and 35 1/2 inches...she is consistently tall and skinny
Audrey is in the 83% for her weight and 80% for her height
Weighing in at 12 1/4 lbs and 23 1/4 inches...you go girl!
Both girls got their shots. Kirsten cried for 30 seconds. Audrey cried for 15 minutes...she's such a girl! When Kirsten got her two month shots I sat and held her and cried (long after she was done crying). When Audrey got her shots she immediately started screeching and turned Santa Claus red...it was all I could do to keep from laughing. I think she was more offended that we gave her the shots than anything. Oh the drama!

If you are wondering if Kirsten pooped while we were in waiting room you are correct. Did I have any Kirsten diapers or wipes with me? No (remember how she poops way more than she used to and I'm not used to stocking my purse every time we leave the house)! Did I raid the doctors cabinets and drawers for diapers and wipes while waiting for him? Yes! Did I carry around a stenchy stenchy diaper in my purse for the next 1/2 hour? Yes I did. Because I'm a mom and that's what moms do.

Halloween 2009

For Halloween this year Audrey was the "good" witch

and Kirsten was the "wicked" witch.

they were stinking adorable!
(yes Kirsten is hiding Audrey's face under the witches hat)

I was a witch too and Kirk was a biker (ya with his moped, funny I know)

We celebrated with my Aunt Colleen, who went all out for my little family. She really is the greatest! Everyone needs an Aunt Colleen!!! Then we met up with some friends for some good ole fashion trick or treating. It took no time flat for Kirsten to appreciate going door to door and getting candy. Her favorite house gave out dum dum suckers. She kept grabbing the sucker out of her bucket, wanting to eat it. It was the first piece of candy to vanish. We went back to my friends house for post trick or treating fun. If you are wondering if Kirsten pooped on my friends carpet you are correct. The joys of being parents. We had a fabulous Halloween!

Two

I just wrote a HUGE blog post about having two kids. But after reading it I realized it was wordy and whiny. So I'm just going to say this:
Having two kids means they poop at the same time. I'm not sure if it's just our house or what but if one poops so does the other. Kirsten used to poop just one time a day! Now I'm grateful if it was just twice. And after they are both done pooping and diapers have been changed, taken out to the garbage, and hands washed they both decide it's time to eat. It's impossible to feed a toddler and nurse a baby I tell you! So the toddler gets a bowl of snack food to munch on while Audrey eats and most of the food ends up smashed into the carpet :) (it's rental carpet and needs replaced anyway) 20 minutes later Audrey is done and we go to the kitchen and fix Kirsten food (which she doesn't really eat, being full from the snack food and all) Then they both want held. And most the time Kirsten's not willing to share my lap or Audrey wants bounced (requiring both arms) which leads to my favorite time of day....screaming. both girls. loudly. and neither have a good reason! Eventually the screaming settles down and everyone is tired from all the pooping, eating, and screaming and finally (after a lot of coaxing) fall asleep. That is until someone poops.

Dinnertime

So many things I love about this picture

• Kirsten loves making her own tacos/fajitas and spends most of dinner arranging and rearranging the "condiments" on the shell. Then she finally folds the shell over and lifts it to her mouth, all the food falling out.
• Her doll. She always has one of two dolls in her arms (or her bear). Don't worry the doll doesn't starve, she feeds the doll some of her food
• The bracelet she is wearing. I let her try it on and she wouldn't let go when I tried to put it back. Toys/ food go ahead and put it back...but a bracelet is a necessity
• She's dubbed herself to big for her high chair and now likes to sit at the table on the stool
  
• Kirk's waiting for Kirsten to finish playing in her food so he can eat it :)

Smiley Audrey

This cute smiler weighs 11 lbs 10 oz

and is consistently sleeping 8 hours a night!

My Very Own Hairdresser

I love having a girl!

Friends!

This past weekend some of my friends from high school came from Salt Lake and Utah Counties for a nice warm visit. They got here just in time for dinner on Friday. We had a BBQ in the backyard, it was the perfect evening. Good food and friends visiting at dusk with babies crawling on a blanket spread over the grass, while the toddlers fought over a doll stroller...perfect! So perfect in fact that as Kirk and I were going to bed I started crying and telling him how much I missed my friends. Watch out women of St George I'm on the lookout for friends!

After a delicious breakfast (we tried to recreate kneaders french toast) we headed to the park for some basketball and volleyball. The kids were really cute cheering on their dads. Then we played some volleyball while the kids played (or ate) the sand. Fun times at the park. Then we headed to the St George main street splash pad. It was a big hit and everyone enjoyed the nice coold water. Then later that night we had a Halloween party...but I'm saving those pictures for Halloween. It was an awesome weekend! I'm so glad I have such great friends!

Audrey's Blessing

Audrey was given a name and blessing on Sunday. It was such a beautiful blessing, Kirk and I both really felt the strength of her spirit. It was amazing! How neat is it that our Father in Heaven would allow us to feel of her divine nature. I really feel honored to be her mother.

We are both lucky to come from amazing families who drove the six hours to be here. Almost all of my family (minus the German, Coloradan, and High Schooler) were here. And they all stayed at our house (ok, Riley slept at my uncles house but he was here most of the time for the party). We had two tents set up in our tiny St George backyard and people sleeping everywhere but the bathroom and kitchen. It was a wonderful time and we made some good memories (11 kids, 12 adults it would have been impossible not to make memories!) Kirk's family also came and showed their love for us and Audrey...we are so lucky!

We love our Audrey so much and so are glad she is a part of our family forever! Thank you to those who participated in the weekend celebrating her!
(Pictures of the weekend will be posted on facebook)

Weekned Review

This past weekend my oldest brother Riley (who is amazing) ran the St George marathon.

 Oh and he did it under 4 hours.
Simply amazing I tell you!

But it almost killed him.

(I hear he is able to walk now)
He had some awesome supporters
One of whom loved the free chocolate energy bars that were passed out
(As her parents we later regretted her free chocolate energy bar)

Other supporters found the whole marathon thing a little boring

Either way I was really impressed with my brother. Way to go Riley!

We also got some cute pictures of Audrey in the bathtub.
I told you she was getting chunky

 Kirsten thought it was necessary for Audrey to have plenty of toys to play with

(aren't big sisters the best!)

 And then there is the mold. A couple weeks ago I was sitting in my recliner healing from the c-section holding my brand new baby when I look over and there are mushrooms growing in our carpet by the baseboard!!! Something was finally done about them last Friday. They ripped out part of the wall in the living room and our bedroom, the baseboards and some of the carpet padding. There was a hole in the living room wall looking into our bedroom. Awesome. Then we got to spend an entire weekend with very large loud fans in our living room and bedroom. Lets just say we were in the house as little as possible :) Hopefully everything will be put back together in time for Audrey's blessing this weekend!

Our bedroom:

 

The living room:

Wonder if it was loud?