Rain Slicker

Don't worry guys- even though it has been raining/snowing here all day, Kaylee is totally ready to take on the storm.

The Big ONE

Yesterday was Kaylee's first birthday!  I can't believe what a big girl she is now- she is definitely not a baby anymore. She refuses to take a bottle and since her birthday just yesterday she has taken more steps than ever before.  She went from only taking 1 or 2 steps before falling to walking about halfway across the room overnight! I guess she decided that since she's one now, she has to start walking since only babies crawl :) My sister put together an amazing birthday party for her on Saturday and we played some awesome games, watched a slide show of her 1st year, and opened lots of fun presents.  It was a great day and I am so grateful to have this amazing little girl in my life.  She has taught us so much and is tons of fun!  Every day I think I love her more and more and know that I am incredibly blessed to have her with me all the time.

 Playing with her birthday balloon

 Opening one of her many presents- thank you everyone!

 Enjoying her first taste of cake

Showing off her adorable new Cinderella dress!

A Rare Occasion

Most of the time, I'm too hard on myself.  I always feel as if I should be doing something more.  I don't spend enough time with Kaylee, I don't get enough done around the house, I don't get ready like I used to, I don't give Richard enough attention, etc, etc, etc.  But the last four days I was pretty much passed out on the couch from being so sick and Richard had to take over 90% of parent duty.  So yesterday when I was feeling better, I actually had enough energy to play with Kaylee.  We read books and I chased her around and we went to the store, and I taught her some new things and we laughed together.  And at the end of the day I sat down with a smile on my face because I. felt. like. a. good. mother!  That is so rare to give myself enough credit and actually feel that I am doing the best I can.  I guess the contrast between not being able to do anything and finally feeling normal again was enough to show me that a lot of times, I do more than I think I do. It was a great feeling :)  Besides, how could you not feel good with this face smiling at you all day??

First Steps!!!

As of a week ago, Kaylee officially took her first steps!  I didn't expect her to do it for another couple of months so I was freaking out a little bit.   The next day we tried to get a step or two on video and this was the best we got.  Sorry about the sideways video, not sure how to flip it. 

She probably won't be walking for a little while still because she doesn't seem to have much interest in it but she's getting really good at standing on her own and finding her balance.   I can't believe my baby girl is already learning how to walk!!!!!!!

Happy Valentine's!

Happy V-Day!!  I hope it was as good for everyone else as it was for us.  While Richard was at school, I decorated our living room and made him Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies (recipe found here).  Now, before you judge me for making something so disgusting for my valentine, you have to understand something about Richard.  He LOVES bacon (remember this post?) and would probably eat it for every meal if he could.  So my sister sent me the recipe and I just had to try it out!  They weren't disgusting...but I definitely prefer my cookies without a salty surprise in the middle.  Richard surprised me by coming home early and doorbell ditching me and leaving my present for me to find.  We were planning on going to a late lunch as soon as Kaylee woke up from her nap so that we could miss the V-Day rush.  But she slept longer than she ever has and so it ended up being a very late lunch or an early dinner at our favorite place, Ruby River.  I was going to make heart-shaped calzones for dinner but we were so full we decided to postpone that until Monday.   I realized after the day was over that we didn't take a single picture even though we had our camera with us the whole day.... oh well. I guess we'll have to remember our bacon cookies another way :)

Would You Rather...

...Wear your food or eat it?

Personally, I'd rather wear it.  It's much more fun!

Provo Beach Resort

It seems like we have had a lot of fun places to go check out lately, which has been great!  This time we went to investigate the new Provo Beach Resort.  Kaylee is already an amateur surfer, we're just waiting for the right time to take her pro:

 Apparently, they are expecting to do REALLY well because everything was state-of-the-art and very expensive!  They have an indoor wave pool where you can surf, a ropes course, a golf stimulator, a bowling alley, an arcade, a mini croquet course, a carousel, a stage, a pinewood derby course, and two playgrounds for kids.  Kaylee was fascinated by the people who were doing the ropes course and probably could have watched them for hours. 

It's pretty cool because it's on the 2nd level but there is no floor underneath the actual course, so you can see it when you are on the 1st or 2nd level (does that make sense?).  She was probably trying to figure out how they were "flying" in the air!  I loved walking around and just seeing all the fun stuff they have.  Hopefully one day we'll actually be able to try some of it!