Haiti

I found this picture while browsing through photos of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. It broke my heart to see this poor father's face as he's carrying his child who was killed in the disaster. My heart aches for the survivors and all that they are going through right now. A lot of people lost loved ones and all that they have in this world, and I am so grateful for all the people who are doing what they can to help. I was reading an article about all the celebrities that are donating and trying to raise money for the relief effort and a lot of the people that commented on it were saying that there are a lot of people suffering here in America too, and that they are going to help them before they would be sending money over there. I don't think people realize that even before this earthquake, the people over there had nothing. And now they have less than that. The only way they can survive and move on is with our help. Even the most poverty stricken family here in America has more than most of the people over there, simply because they live here. We are so blessed to live in this country, we have much to be thankful for, and I hope we can remember that when life gets hard. I was thinking about the big earthquake that is going to hit someday here, and realized that even if it is of a larger magnitude, we still wouldn't suffer the devastation that they are experiencing in Haiti. I am not doing this post to make people depressed, I just wanted to express the thoughts that have been going through my head since last week and I finally got a moment to do it. So, hug your families a little tighter, there are many people in Haiti that lost theirs last week.

Christmas 2009

After we got the tree up. It is so small in our house with the high ceilings

We went to the lights at Layton Park. Taylor loved it, Celeste was a little cold.

Christmas morning. They were both in a relatively good mood. It was nice.

Justin's present from my mom and dad, they spoiled us.

We had a lot of fun this Christmas with our two kids. Taylor really enjoyed opening his toys and I think he will actually remember Christmas when it comes around again. He was still scared of Santa, I have high hopes for when he's 4. Celeste was okay with him, but she didn't really know what was going on. We spent Christmas Eve with Justin's family. Justin's mom does a great job with a beautiful program every year that helps us to think of the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas morning, we actually slept in until 7:30, which was pretty nice. Both kids were actually happy to be opening presents. After that, we headed over to Justin's mom's again for a little while before going down to my parent's for the remainder of the day. The kids got some great stuff from everyone and so did Justin and I, actually. It really was a nice Christmas and of course it all went too fast, as it will next Christmas. It always does.

6 months

My little angel is six months! I seriously can't believe how fast time goes. She is the little flower on the left. This was taken on Halloween, obviously. The other girls are her cousin Alexis who is next to her. She was born two months after Celeste, and then cousin Emily, who was born two months after that. I'm so excited to see her grow up and get her cute personality. She is mobile, not quite crawling all the time, but she's got the army crawl down. She loves to follow Taylor wherever he goes. I'm gonna start having to use a baby gate to keep her out of the kitchen. She is just a beautiful little smiley girl. I love her more every day. Unless she is just too ornery, you can always get her to smile. She smiles for strangers too. She is not shy. Taylor adores her, he won't leave her alone ever. Unless she's asleep and I threaten to make him take a nap too. I'm so grateful to have her, she seriously keeps me sane. Although, I'm not so sure that will be the case as she gets older, but right now it's great.

Umm, I'm here

I am so bad at posting on this blog, I sit and read everyone else's blogs forever, but fail to update mine. I'm what you call a procrastinator. I even think of things I would like to blog about, but find other things to do instead. I know, no excuses, right? Anyway, I finally have a song that comes up on my page that I will probably not mute every time I'm on it. I love Glee! I think it's one of the most clever and funny shows that have been on in a long time. And if they keep it up, they'll probably be on for a long time. Hopefully. Have you ever noticed that the networks decide to cancel shows for no reason? Shows that seem to be doing pretty well and have been around for a few years? It drives me crazy when I like a show and the next season it doesn't come back. My Name is Earl is one of those shows. You can't just axe a show after it's been on for four years and not even resolve it. It's just not right. That was a really funny show and we'll never even know if he finished everything on his list.

And just so you know, I've been a t.v. junkie in the past, but I'm really trying to break the habit. Some shows that I will just not give up though are Glee(of course), Bones, and The Office. I also love So You Think You Can Dance, but for some reason, I haven't gotten into it this season. Maybe because they just finished a season in the Summer... Oh, and I've been a long time fan of American Idol, but we'll see what happens this coming season. I might be able to give it up, except I really want to see how Ellen Degeneres does judging. It could be pretty funny.

Anyway, the family is doing great. Celeste is growing like a weed. She is only 5 months, but she can scoot across the floor like a pro when she sees something she wants. She can't so much sit up though, too much to look at. She'll fall over every time. Taylor seems a little bored right now. I wish I had gotten him into preschool this year, but it just didn't happen. Next year for sure. But if anybody has any ideas on how to entertain a 3 year old with a lot of energy, I need some ideas. He really needs something to focus his energy on that will not harm him or others. If I could afford My Gym or a tumbling class, I think that would be my best bet. But not right now. That'll have to wait awhile. Life is kind of crazy right now. We have tried only Justin having a job, and it's lasted over 5 months, but until he finds a new job, I really need to find something part time and in the evenings to supplement our income. Anyone out there know of anything? I've even toyed with the idea of making a new blog and trying adsense, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I've heard you can make some money doing that, but I'm not sure what I'd even blog about. And while I'm on the subject, Justin needs a new job. He loves his job at Goodson Signs, but they just can't afford to pay him enough to support his family and have insurance. He is a very talented Graphic Designer, I think that he is worth a lot more than he's getting right now. He is starting a blog to showcase his portfolio, so go check it out. It's JDB-Design.blogspot.com. He doesn't have anything on there yet, but he will soon. I really don't think I have anything else on my mind right now, so Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes, we still do have Thanksgiving, it is before Christmas. I think all the stores forgot about it.

4 months!

Celeste is now 4 months old...well, she was over a week ago, but I'm catching up. Anyway, she is growing wonderfully, 65% for weight and 99% for height!!! She is 27 inches long! The doctor said that the height is their most inaccurate measurement, but even if they are a little off, that is still really good. I can't believe how tall my kids are! Especially since I'm only 5'6" and Justin is 5'9 1/2". I would say they get it from my side, since my dad and brothers are so tall. Anyway, she is such a sweet and happy girl. She has been smiling like crazy since she was a month old. All you have to do it say hi or smile at her and you will get a huge smile in return. She is giggling and once in awhile will laugh pretty heartily for Taylor. She's really close to sitting up on her own, not straight up by any means, but we can sit her on the ground leaning forward and she will stay that way for a long time without tipping over. She is rolling over and has been a tummy sleeper since just after she turned 2 months. It worried me at first because she couldn't roll from her tummy to her back, but there was nothing I could do about it. I tried a positioner, but she always managed to kick out of it and it ended up at the bottom of the crib and she would be on her tummy again. So, I gave up, and she's just fine. The only time it's no good is right now cause she is congested and it's harder for her to breathe on her tummy. I tried to put her on her back early this morning to help her, but she just rolled right back over. Stubborn child. But she's so cute, so it's okay, I'll forgive her. Anyway, she's so much fun, and we are just loving having her in our family.

Taylor's 3!!!

I know I'm like a month late, but Taylor turned 3 on August 30th and we went to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden and had a birthday party at the park to celebrate. Here are just a few pictures from the day.

Taylor and his Daddy goofing off.

Taylor and Grandma

Taylor being a Dinosaur.

My little boy is getting so big. I barely even remember him anymore when he was little, so today I had to go back and watch some video of some of his firsts. Taylor is talking like a pro now, he's quite the conversationalist. He loves Dinosaurs, Cars, and any movie with dogs in it. He loves to play outside and is already talking about building snowmen. He loves his little sister, and is already turning out to be the best big brother. I love my little boy and I'm excited to see him grow up, but I really do miss the little baby that made me a new mother.

Family Pics

Justin's cousin took our family pics. I'm really pleased with how they turned out, so here they are. If you want to check out other stuff she's done, click here. I think she's a very talented photographer.