Heading to Ohio

I have just not had the motivation to write on my blog lately, it's weird how it kind of goes in spurts.  But I did want to announce that we have officially made our decision about PhD schools (phew!) and we are heading to Columbus, Ohio in August.  I am 1/3 part terrified, 1/3 part excited, and 1/3 (or more) part a nervous wreck :)  Right now I am mostly worried about the actual move and making a 27 hour trip with Kaylee stuck in the car that whole time.  Richard is SO excited, it's fun to see.  He's pretty much planned out our whole trip already and spends every night looking up facts about Ohio or places to stop on the way.  Neither one of us has ever lived out of Utah for an extended period of time so we'll see how it goes- Go Buckeyes!

I Feel Like A Better Parent Already

As of 11:04 this morning, Kaylee has officially been introduced to the beautiful world that is Saved By The Bell.  I know, I shouldn't have waited this long to introduce her.  But I wanted to make sure she could fully appreciate what she was getting into :)  Normally she lasts about two minutes during any kind of tv show but she actually sat through an entire episode with me!  What can I say? The girl has good taste.

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 :)