Update . . .

So it has officially been way too long since I've updated anything! I know, I know! I am just being a slacker . . . really I have no better excuse than that. I tell it like it is. I figured I'd give a play by play with some pictures over the last few months. Those are the best updates anyway. Let's face it, who actually reads what I put on here?! It's all about the photos! So here we go:

Baby Sloan came to visit back in November. Braelyn loved her to pieces and her favorite phrase was, "I take it!" It referring to the baby!

We took Braelyn to see the Mesa Temple lights. I'm sorry to say to all those Salt Lake Temple lights fans, but Mesa lights rock! They are so much more colorful and fun. Plus, you can still feel your toes by the end of the night.

We attempted yet another picture with Santa Clause. As soon as Ben set Braelyn on Santa's lap she ran off screaming like a crazed banshee. They wouldn't even release the photo that they snapped for us because her shirt came up when she was squirming out of Santa's lap. To improvise we tried to just get a family picture by the Christmas trees. Oh no! Braelyn was still eyeing Santa and wouldn't stop screaming. Oh well, til next year!

We did some festive arts and crafts for Christmas. I think we have a mini Picasso on our hands!

Ben and I got to participate in the annual reenactment of the Christmas story at Grandma and Grandpa Sawyer's house. If I dare say, I think Ben and I won for best supporting actor and actress. We rocked the living room stage!

We celebrated Christmas day in Utah with Grandma Kaye and Grandpa Cal. You've never seen a two year old get so spoiled in all your life. Hey, I'm not complaining! Braelyn still plays with all her loot from princess galore to movies to an awesome cupcake kitchen!

Getting lost in all the presents!

A family picture by the tree. Now if we could only get her to smile. You take what you can get! We're actually lucky to get any pictures nowadays. I really think Santa traumatized her from taking pictures. You say, "Let's take a picture" and she literally screams. Haha!

Braelyn loved hanging out with Baby Sloan and Uncle Taylor over the holidays. She still asks for them. Too bad they don't live closer. Hint hint.

Missy turned 2!!! That's right, we have a full blown toddler on our hands. And you better watch out because this girl is head strong and really to tackle the world. Move out of the way or get run over!

Eating chocolate ice cream. Can a girl ask for anything more???

Yes! Presents!!! I was such a proud mama. Braelyn thanked every single person for her present. What a well mannered little girl. Can I take credit for that one or do I have to chalk it up to just luck and a good day?

We went pedal boating with our birth mom and had an absolute blast! Don't be deceived by the cry baby face. Braelyn LOVED it!

Told you!

Ben ran in a crazy race called the Tough Mudder. It's a 12 mile long obstacle course in the mud, hence the name. By the time he finished he had mud in his ears, coming out his nose, wedged in his teeth, and a few other places I won't mention. I sure was proud of my babe!

I took Braelyn to see Toy Story on Ice. She cried in my arms for the first twenty minutes until the Barbies came skating out in all their bimbo dancing glory. After that, she was hooked. Literally for the next hour she couldn't take her eyes off the show. She talked about it for days. Thanks Katie and Drew for inviting us!

Speaking of Drew, how cute are these besties?! They have so much fun together.

It is beautiful weather here in Phoenix! We can't help but spend almost everyday at the park. Occasionally I can capture a few cheesy photos.

Okay, and I guess it's time to say . . . we're pregnant! Yep, that's a little baby in there, or as Ben would say "our little peanut". I'm a little over 13 weeks and we're due August 10th. We're really excited and Braelyn will be the best big sister ever! She loves her little baby dolls like crazy, wrapping them in blankets and rocking them to sleep. I don't doubt she will be mommy's little helper.

And there you go! The last few months in a nutshell. I guess I haven't been all that lazy! We sure do have lots of fun with our little family. I'm blessed to have such an amazing husband and spunky daughter to fill my life with so much joy. I love you two!

Dressing up Kiddos and Cupcakes!

This past week has been quite the busy week, to put it lightly. First we were invited to a Halloween party which was a lot of fun. And we were really excited to go so we could keep getting to know people. By the way, everyone around here has been so nice and welcoming. We really are enjoying living out here in Gilbert. Although I do miss you Katie!!! So anyway, Ben got sick that morning but was still a trooper and went with us to the party. I went out that day looking for costumes. Ben already had a ghetto outfit from a couple years back when he did a rap for a talent show, so all I had to do was find outfits for Braelyn and me. I ended up scoring big time at the Goodwill and off to the party we went.

I love her stance in this picture. It totally looks like she throwing out some ghetto move.

The rest of the gangsta family!

About a month after moving into our new house, Ben and I were asked to organize a Fall Festival for over 400 people in the community. The million dollar question that people kept asking me was, "How did you get put in charge of that?!" I still don't know, and if anyone ever finds out, please let me know! Actually, it ended up being a lot of fun and we met so many people by asking for volunteers. Sadly, I was so busy the night of the festival that I didn't get a single picture. Oh well! I did manage to get a picture of the pinatas Ben and I made for one of the booths. I'm quite proud of us!

The day after the festival we had a birthday party for a good friend of mine's son. A few months back she had asked me to make cupcakes for the party. Now, she has a big family so we're talking 80 cupcakes. Could the timing have been any crazier?! I baked like a madwoman and froze the cupcakes in advance. I thought, "All I have to do the day of is decorate." Yeah, three hours later and I finally made it just in time with chocolate heath cows, strawberry pigs, and caramel apple hay cupcakes to take to the funnest birthday party ever. There was an entire petting farm that came with goats, ducks, chickens, and baby chicks. Braelyn had so much fun!

Decorating her "baby pumpkin" with stickers.

Decorating sugar cookies. Really Braelyn just liked eating all the toppings. Can you say sugar high?!

Her cute little farmer outfit. We couldn't find cowgirl boots in time, but I'm kinda wanting some for the winter.

Holding the baby chick with daddy. She was so gentle with them and kept saying, "Be soft, be soft!". After I put this picture on the computer she cupped her little hands and pretended to pick up the chick from the computer screen. Then she gave the pretend chick a kiss and put it back in the computer screen. I was dying laughing. Do kids really pretend this young? She's not even two?!

The cupcakes I decorated. Now I know I'm not a professional decorator or anything, but I will say they tasted pretty dang good! And all from scratch.

Chowin' down on all the hard work.


So then we had a day break before Halloween came. This time Braelyn traded in her gangsta ensemble for a more dainty choice. A cute little bumble bee . . . that she hated. Seriously, she ran away from me and screamed when we tried to put the costume on. Did I give up? No! Did I bribe her with candy? Yes! As soon as she realized that wearing the bee costume meant going outside and getting more candy, she forgot all about how much she, "No like bee!"

She was the best trick or treater ever! She would skip down the sidewalk with her bucket in hand, run up to the door, knock, say trick or treat and stand there waiting for candy. Except for she always said the trick or treat part before the door would open. At least she said it! And before they would even shut the door she would already have turned around running to the next house saying, "More candy! Next door!" I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. What a night!

Ready to go! She could not wait to open that door and get on her way.

Our amazing birth mom Jana came over to spend Halloween with us. It was a great night eating pizza, laughing at Braelyn, and trick or treating. It's so fun to see those two together. I can see little resemblances between them. I know for sure that Braelyn gets part of her spunk from Jana. They both make me laugh!

She randomly sat on the front porch of a house and smiled. So I took a picture. Why not?!

Posing again at the same house. There's nothing like a mini photo shoot on a stranger's porch just before you're about to ask them for candy.

Examining her loot! She must have eaten bits and pieces of about 10 candies. She couldn't commit to just eating one. Today I'm working on explaining that we can only have one piece of candy after each meal. She wants to eat it all day long. Plus she woke up asking about her bee costume so we could go out trick or treating again. Funny girl!

This past week has been so entertaining for our family. I'm so glad that we have friends and family to make holidays special. And the best part is it just keeps getting better and better with Thanksgiving and Christmas on the way!

FALLin' In Love!

Yes it may be 102 degrees outside today but it is still FALL and I'm loving it. We went to another pumpkin patch over the weekend and had even more fun than the weekend before. Partly because our best buds were there to share the experience with. Braelyn and Drew compliment one another's high energy and spunk perfectly! Those two are just like those toys that you wind up and let loose, except for they never slow down. I wish I could say the same for me. Just think about how much I could get done if I had endless amounts of energy!

"I take it," her response for anything that she likes lately hoping that I will let her take it home. No Braelyn you cannot have a goat. This was only seconds before a swarm of goats bombarded her and knocked her to the ground hoping that she had some food for them. Her response quickly change to, "Bad goats! No more goats!" and then she walked off.

Just admiring the ass on the ass.

Right after Ben and Braelyn went down this slide, which was quite steep, Braelyn ran back up and went down the slide herself. What a brave little girl!

I love this next sequence of events. As her mother, I know that Braelyn can freak out in out of the ordinary stiuations, but then she calms down. This is how rides are to her. She freaks out for a minute and then loves it. As you can see:

"Yay I'm on an airplane!"

"Looking at the beautiful view."

"What?! You expect me to ride this airplane?!"

"I'm so traumatized. Look at the tears coming down my cheeks."

"Okay, this isn't so bad!"

Again, as her mother I knew for sure she would also enjoy riding the bee ride, so we headed on over. Here is this sequence of events:

Okay, I was wrong. She hated the whole thing. There is no sequence of events. Only one event, screaming!

And this time we did end up with a cute little pumpkin just like Braelyn. I think we might have to make this pumpkin patch trip a tradition . . . including the rides!

I Love Groupons!

I got this groupon over the weekend to DeWitt Stables where they have a pumpkin patch, hayrides, and a little petting zoo. It only cost $5 for the whole family to go. Score! We had such a blast. Braelyn could hardly be torn away from the petting zoo once it was time to leave. Can I also just say that I am loving the fall weather. Okay, so it hasn't quite stuck around, but I'm sure it will be back . . . soon . . . I hope.

"Can I please have this pumpkin? Please?!" Just look at that face? Can I tell her no? Well, I didn't exactly say "no" to the three dollar pumpkin. I just waited until she became disinterest. Mom - 1, Overpriced Pumpkin Patch - 0!

Loving me some Braelyn Boo!

Braelyn surprised me and was really interested in the horses. Usually large out of the ordinary things freak her out, but she was totally petting the horses right on the nose. Okay, so maybe the horse didn't make it in this picture, but I promise she was petting it!

 There's the horse! Behind us. I told you there was one. =)

And she even sat on the miniature horse for a picture. I'm telling you, this is a milestone! Okay, can I tell you what a ripoff this picture was?! I have to confess I bought the upgraded groupon for $9 that included a family picture. I was thinking "professional, sitting on hay bales, cute family picture". Nope, this totally antisocial girl stuck Braelyn on the horse and snapped a photo with her digital camera while she kept saying to Braelyn, "Um, can you look at the camera?" Then she printed it off and handed it to us without saying another word. Ummm . . . thanks. I could have done that.

So originally I put Braelyn on this ride by herself. I though it was just going to circle the corral. She started crying so the driver said since I was small enough (not sure how to take that) I could ride with her. So I hop in and it turns out the ride went all around the stables and pumpkin patch. Haha! If I would have sent Braelyn alone, I don't think she would have made it back. She probably would have jumped out somewhere along the pumpkin patch. I'm such a good mom.

Braelyn's favorite was the petting zoo. She kept trying to put this hat on the chickens. I'm seriously laughing out loud right now remembering this hat. First of all, we have no idea whose it is. With that said, if I were a good mom, I probably should not have let Braelyn put it on . . . not too sanitary. So I guess I'll recant that previous "I'm such a good mom statement". Second of all, when Braelyn was finally over playing with it, Ben set it down next to him on the hay bale he was sitting on. Before you know it, the goat jumped up next to Ben and started eating the hat. Ben had to rip it out of the goat's mouth. He then carefully returned the hat where we found it as good as new . . . with a huge hole . . . from a hungry goat.

 

And finally we made our way over to the lasso station. Ben was practicing some mad skills on the fake bulls. He actually roped two of them. What a stud. Anyway, the next thing we hear is, "Eww yucky boogers!" We turn around to find Braelyn with both her fingers in the bull's nostrils. Haha! I love it.