May, makes a great name, and a great month!

Is this picture not the most insanely cute thing you've ever seen? I know, too cute, can't function.....

Afton likes to lay back with her books and just chill

She loves yogurt and her Aunt Care

HAPPY BABY!

I can't believe we're already most the way through the month of May! It's been super great, we are in love with our new place, never before has a place I live brought me so much joy! Seriously, it's just a great house and I keep discovering really cool things about the area like a bagel shop close by that has truly chewy bagels.....YAY! And an ecological preserve of ocean wetlands really close to us with outrageously beautiful wildlife, so many rare and gorgeous birds it should be illegal. We're just loving it. Afton is doing great, starting to stand up for longer and longer, but still not walking, she seems to be just fine with Mom picking her up and therefore this whole "mobility" thing seems pretty over-rated to her. Here is a link to a youtube video of Afton that shows how (PLEASE watch it, you will freak out on the cute factor) she is obsessed with books right now, she gets really upset when you put the books down. It's pretty funny though, she is very aware of the camera, we tried to film her while we read this book 3 times with Justin hiding all over the house but she would always find the camera right away.......natural performer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwmFnaZdGMY
I got to go to SLC at the end of April which was amazing! We had a baby shower for Natasha who now has the most beautiful little angel baby named Eliza May - so darling! I posted some pictures Care took when we were there, she is Afton's official photographer. We've been making this really yummy bread, I took a picture for you, it's like super legit artisan bread right out of my oven, I'm kind of in love with it. Also we have Afton's 1st birthday coming up on June 1st! I can't believe it's been a year. I had to get a post out now because you know I will have all sorts of mind blowing pictures from the Birthday Party on the 29th of this month. It's going to be super fun, cake decorating and eating is the theme, and her Grams and Gramps will be in town to celebrate with us! Love to all of you!

SPRING! and all is anew!

Happy Easter! And we apologize for the delay, moving makes it hard to sit down and update your blog, but we are so moved and we are so super excited about it! March has been really exciting, Afton is getting more insanely cute each day as her little curls frame the sweetest smiling face that's ever happened and we not only moved, but we sold one of our cars and got little visits from Aunt Care and Grandma! Afton got super sick early in the month with bronchitis, double ear infections and even pneumonia, but we are all healthy and loving life now. Yesterday we had a really long crazy earthquake, but then we had a beautiful feast after a really fun Easter egg hunt with the Johns who live so close by Bob rode his bike here in 5 minutes! We are LOVING Fountain Valley so far, and we can even hear the Disneyland fireworks at night....doesn't that make you want to come visit us?? PLEASE COME VISIT US! (and check back on the blog because I will be posting some incredible videos the next time I get a break!)

February is for lovers

And what a super lovey month it's been! I'm not mad at Valentines Day - it's pretty cool that we dedicate a day to love - it's kind of dreamy. It was a super double triple treat this year because Valentines and President's Day were the same long weekend so we got to have my Moms here and we could not have had more fun- it was a waking dream! We did a good amount of shopping, which was a blast because I have the most gorgeous baby ever to buy stuff for, and I have my swagger back so it wasn't horrifying shopping for myself either, it was pretty much perfect. Every day was incredible weather and Justin and I were able to take a baby free date night which was an absolute dream. I've got my awesome new car.......oh no! I promise I will get a picture of it soon to show you all, it's super sweet, and the other great news is - WE ARE MOVING TO FOUNTAIN VALLEY! We got a great 4 bedroom that's in the same ward Kristin's (Justin's sis!) family! They are some of the best people I've ever met so we can't wait to be close by them - and we'll be much closer to the beach and closer to Justin's work. We're really glad it all worked out- we move in at the end of March. Afton is a super roller now, and she can totally stand up holding onto things - I think walking is soon to come! She also has 6 teeth now and more coming all the time (poor angel) and she's really into teething biscuits the last few days as you can see from the video below. There's also a cute one of her reading with Mom, which was too cute for words - she LOVED it! I've also posted some fun picks from the last few weeks including Afton and I all dolled up for Valentines Day. LOVE TO EACH OF YOU and all the awesome things you do!

34 years old!.......and I look great

She loves her new activity center.....or whatever these ugly things are called, I'm so glad a rad lady in our ward gave it to us so I didn't have to buy one, and so is Afton~!
We did a front yard photo shoot that was too cute not to share - she's a total poser!



Can you tell this is a pond and not a yard?? And below- my favorite wrinkle nose smile!

That's right, I had a birthday this month putting me right into the "mid-thirties" but I'm not mad, I have an incredible husband and the most gorgeous baby that's ever happened! Life is not bad, and what makes it even better is I'm finally back to my pre-pregnancy weight, which was not my ideal weight, but still, it's good to know I can come back from that level of massiveness relatively unscathed. Here are some pictures of our January which included:

• A lot of new foods for Afton which meant interesting pooh that is on new levels of disgusting-ness
• A Golden Globes party with almost zero attendance (thanks Lisa for coming by to drop off the the tupperware I left at your house and staying a few minutes because you felt bad for me)
• A busted car........and after countless hours of Justin taking it apart inside and out doing a million tests and replacing this and that and re-wiring and all sorts of jump down turn around I don't even want to know...........
• A (mostly) fixed car!!
• A lemon-aid stand for charity (and free Disney tickets)
• A Birthday - which thanks to Farrah was celebrated with Cafe Rio and a MOVIE!! (props to Farrah, what on earth would I do without her?)
• A week of much needed rain!
  
• A cold for me and baby............booo-hoooo
• Oh yea....and I've lost 9 lbs this month......BOO-YAH!
  

You might need to watch the nose blow video (first one) a few times to fully comprehend how adorable it is to see a baby truly terrified of her Mom's nose blow

2009!!!......and scene

I had a super yummy chocolate Christmas party- homemade hot cocoa, 2 kinds of fudge, chocolate chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cake to attempt to balance all the chocolate.

What a great year! 2009 ended with a super fun Holiday season and without us even knowing it Afton somehow entered, qualified and won the cute awards in every category, she's the cutest thing that happened all year! In case you didn't know about it check out the video of her gripping the sides of the bath (that lasted just a few months but now she's moved on to full on splashing like crazy so I'm glad we got it on video) or the awesome footage of Afton opening up gifts than attacking the camera. 2009 has left us humble and feeling just incredibly blessed. I love the optimistic feeling of starting a new year, it's like a Saturday morning where you're so excited for all the stuff you're going to get done, just a really great feeling. Of course (as evidenced by these videos) I still have some serious baby lbs to loose, which is happening but much too slowly so I'm kicking my program into gear. Justin got me a Wii fit plus, which I've totally been wanting and was so stoked about, but it was kind of rude to me. When I went through the initial set up it first said in it's little mousy voice "you're overweight" - which wasn't that bad, I was expecting that, but then my little Mii person expanded and got all chubbed out and frowny- so rude! Than there was this strange balance test that told me my Wii age was 45 - RUUUUDE! A few days later I did the test again and my age went to 20 so I'm questioning the accuracy on that one, but enjoying all the fun activities and games on it and I think it will really help me reach my goals. Other than that we've had a really fun 2010 so far, the year is off to a super rad start and I'm looking forward to every day because it's such an amazing gift to watch this gorgeous angel baby discover new things and grown into a more incredible person every minute - she's truly a joy! We can't wait for visitors - Rand and Joyce started the year off right with a super fun New Years Eve and New Years Day in So.Cal and I'm sure they will attest that it's a really fun place to visit, so COME SEE US!! Tim is coming this weekend and I would guess he'll give an endorsement as well. Love to all of you!!

Holiday Happy Baby

December has been so much fun so far- Afton seriously just kills us with her emerging personality that develops more each day - she is such a joy. She's been eating solids for a while now and I've posted some really cute video of her eating - I love the look on her face with her first taste of peas. Unsurprisingly her favorite is pears - she just gobbles them up like crazy. At her 6 month appointment it was fun to learn that she's now 18 lbs! Double her birth weight - and she is crazy tall - 98% for her age and the doctor said she thinks Afton will be at least 5'8"- are you serious!!? So rad. As always we are constantly in search of adorable giggles - Justin succeeded by throwing the blanket over her the other night which made her laugh so hard it's just impossible cute. Another cute thing Afton's doing is sucking her toes - we keep trying to get it on video but she is too interested in the camera - I'm going to have to sneak a shot of it somehow. She also sits up like a champ for as long as she wants - she's getting really strong! There are a few pictures in here of an adventure I had with Benito yesterday. I sometimes let him play on the inside and outside of his outside cage as long as I'm close by, I know it sounds crazy, but he's never moved from it and he can't fly plus it's protected by a canopy decking on top. Anyway, I leaned out to check on him and didn't see him in his cage which was confusing and not alarming because I could hear him loud and clear. I went outside and couldn't see him anywhere, so I listened for his squawk and discovered him WAY up high in our plum tree - I mean he was up there! He must have gotten startled by something, fell from his cage and found the closest thing to climb up. I tried to bribe him down with treats but he wasn't having it. Eventually I had to climb the tree myself to get him - super danger dog, but pretty funny. Other than that we've been doing great, we're having a Christmas party this Saturday so if you're around please join us. Love you all to the max!

Thanksgiving love feast

We had a blast in Utah for Thanksgiving. I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but I LOVE that place! It's so beautiful with the snow and bright sun and gorgeous mountains, not to mention the many many people we love, it was so much fun. Of course I forgot to bring the super cute little fleece coat I got for Afton on at baby gap just for this occasion, but she handled the cold like a champ. In fact she was a super champ the whole trip, I swear she should win awards for what a good sport she was about the constant car seat nightmare to and from. Thanksgiving dinner was so good it should be illegal, and I had a tri-fecta of pies for dessert. In fact speaking of awards I think I should win one for most calories consumed in a 4 day period......not that I'm proud of this fact, but on Saturday, we had doughnuts for breakfast, hires Big H for lunch and home-made pizza for dinner!! Somehow I did not gain weight....it's a Christmas miracle! Our favorite part was seeing all the adorable nieces and nephews with Afton, she was not even bugged by all the sweet kiddo's right in her face. Although I LOVED Utah, I do always come home with a renewed motivation to like California a little more. At least here in Cali my hands are much prettier and we don't have any inversion........or mountains, but seriously it's not that bad. As always- any and all of you are welcome in our Cali Cassa anytime!