Quick Catch Up

Here are some of November's highlights:

We visited the valley while Derek had a PT class. I got some Christmas shopping done and we got to spend time with our family!

Carson was so cute with the babies, they all just sat there and posed for us!

We've learned that Cooper has the same sweet tooth as his father.
(don't worry, this was just for pictures)

Good thing he is the cutest child in the universe...

he has been colicky/hard to put down to sleep/hard to get to stay asleep/wakes up 100 times during the night

over the last several weeks.

I am reading every sleep book there is and am hopeful I'll have him figured out in no time.

We're already making progress

It's never too early for magic!

Derek is such an incredible husband. After coming home from Time Out for Women several weeks ago he surprised me with a gift. I opened it and it was the cutest mickey mouse outfit for Cooper and tickets to Disneyland!

I was so so excited as I LOVE disneyland so very much.It was so fun to be there at Halloween, the fireworks were fabulous and there were these extremely talented pumpkin carvers. Here she was working on the Queen of Hearts.


She had already finished alice.

I LOVE the monsters Inc ride

Enjoying a Dole Pineapple float - our favorite!

Jesse was so cute with Cooper!

Cooper's very first ride was the Nemo Submarines. This is so appropriate because my favorite ride as a child was the submarines and this was my first time going on it since they've re-done it.

Going to Disneyland with a 2 1/2 month old has its perks.

The parent swap program had both Derek and I on the Space Mountain in twenty minutes when regular waiting was 40.
The only down side is that we rode many of the rides solo

Cooper's first picture with Mickey!

The last time we were here my dreams really did come true!

This was right after Derek proposed to me!

Now look at us!

I am so grateful for my incredible husband who is such a selfless husband and father. He is so thoughtful and loving and I still can't believe I am married to such a perfect man who gets up so early every morning after what is usually a not so restful night and goes to work so our family can make these memories.

I loved our trip! It was such a fabulous break and I loved visiting Cullen, Jenny, Mason and Brady! We just can't get enough of California!

Football Fan?

Cooper has been liking his bumbo seat. The other day Derek put him in front of the T.V. to watch a Baby Einstein video because we believe they will make him really really smart at a young age. Just Kidding (google baby Einstein recall if you're confused) He put him in front of the T.V. to help me make dinner while football was on.

A few minutes later he was like this

Poor Derek finally has someone who is supposed to like sports with him

and this is what happens

...but maybe he was just tired that night because a few days later he was all decked out in his ASU outfit getting really into it...

but it turns out that he was watching The Office, not ASU football.



So far it looks like he likes sports as much as his mother does.

Dear Dad

Thank you for:

all of the hours you spend playing with me and making me smile

giving me your blue eyes, dark hair, and such handsome genes

teaching me how to be mischievous

loving me even when I'm naughty

and at the end of the day,

for being my best friend.

if I could only know how lucky I am to have you as my daddy.

C.R.F and E.L.F.

Cooper's newest cousin, Evelyn joined us on Sept. 23rd!

Here Evelyn is only two days old and Cooper is 2 months old. (notice how they are the same size...) I am SO thrilled that Cooper has Evelyn and Carson to be fun little cousins that he can grow up with.

Doesn't Kendra look GREAT! She is such a pro at having children and is such a great example of being a great mother!

Chillin' like a Villiain

Isn't it incredible that babies come with so much personality?

You can already tell that while Kai is the gap-model GQ type Cooper will be choosing a different sort of lifestyle... Here's our little homie in his velour suit with his "I'm a bawler" face.

Home can be a heaven on earth!

Derek and I became official home owners in Show Low!

After much searching (house hunters on HGTV makes it look so fun...it is NOT) we finally found one that we loved!

The house is beautiful but has been a lot of work with needing to be painted, cleaned, and otherwise fixed up a bit

It also had way too many trees.

Here is it's former lack of curb appeal picture:
One afternoon, three chainsaws and four men later...here it is!

I can't wait for it to have grass and bushes!

Here is the scraggly back yard:


And after!

I love that Derek is so quickly becoming a mountain man!

We are so grateful for our new home and are so glad we were able to buy while the market is so favorable! We know we will be able to live here for a long time and it feels so great to be starting off our new little family in our own home.