thompsons

18 months

2012-01-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

We had Quinn's 18 month check up a couple days after she turned 18 months and she is 25.4 lbs (70%) and 34 inches (above 95%). I don't know how accurate those two measurements are because she was only still for a second before she started wiggling and screaming, but that is what we have:)

I can not believe Quinn is a year and a half. She is acting more and more like a big girl and not a baby. It is sooo fun to see her learn and grow but I miss little things about her being a baby. I love how she is VERY independent but I miss her needing me more than anything. I thought that she was copying us before, but boy was I wrong, now she copies us like crazy! She is staying true to her busy self so we have assigned her "chores" which she loves. Right now she takes the trash can out from under the sink, helps reline the trash can, and puts it back. She sits on the counter and helps dry dishes. She helps dust. And her favorite thing to do is help with meals - getting stuff out of the fridge and cupboards, opening the microwave (because that is how I cook:), putting the food in the microwave and starting it. Every time the timer goes off she opens the microwave and looks at the food and says "Num, num!" It's pretty cute. I love that she is a good eater and will try almost anything when she is in the mood. I love that she snuggles willingly to watch a show. I LOVE when we are playing and she stops to give me a big hug or kiss (her way of saying "thanks for playing, you are the best!"). I love her cute pigtails and her growing hair that is not so mullet-like anymore. I love that she is into crafting (cutting paper, color and putting stickers on the paper). I love that she is obsessed with her piggy and that when I ask about her baby she grabs the baby and piggy and makes me hold the baby because that is what I'm suppose to do right? I love that she wraps her piggy in a blanket and carries it on her shoulder. I love that she will sit by the window knocking on it until her daddy gets home. I love that every time I go to get her from her crib she says "Mama!! Dada, where go?" and she looks out the door to see if he is home, while still in her crib. I love that she is starting to copy a ton of the things we say! She has really started communicating a ton more, it's crazy how it changes instantly. I am completely OBSESSED with the way she dances. She has got some crazy moves but when you watch her she is completely in a zone of her own and will look at me for approval every once in awhile, haha. I love that she is sometimes shy in front of her daddy, almost as if she has a little crush. I love the way she says "tickle, tickle, tickle" not that clear, but it is so cute when she tickles us or her piggy. I love the way she says "go. go!" with her arms in a cheerleader position, without fail she giggles every time. She thinks she is hilarious, which I also love. She is obsessed with pink and it sometimes drives me nuts. We were going to the store to buy some snow boots and of course I grabbed the all black ones because lets be honest, she will only wear them a couple times and then our next kid will wear them. Well... she threw the biggest fit and would not let us put them on. So she ran up and down the isle and saw the big pink and white fluffy princess moon boots... She was trying so hard to put them on herself and then Steve helped her and she was running around the store happy as a clam. Well I was not about to pay ten extra dollars for some hideous moon boots. So after Steve said, "Well, maybe we should just get the ones she wants. It's pretty cute that she has an opinion and when she is older we can show her pictures of the ugly boots she picked out." I thought for a second and could not bring myself to buy them so I grabbed some pink and black ones and she put them on so we snagged them and ran out before I changed my mind. I know our boy wont be able to wear them but at least we had a happy girl. I love that she will look at any girlie magazine for minutes at a time. I love that she will get her Book of Mormon and sit and read with us every night before she goes to bed (some of the time she is wandering her room, a few chapters at a time can take about 20 minutes, so I don't blame her). I love that she will randomly fold her arms and want to say a prayer (mumbling of course). I love that she knows who Jesus is and that she will point out pictures throughout the day. I love that she gets excited when we go get the mail everyday and that she loves when we get packages, she automatically thinks they are for her. I love that she will sit with her princess hair kit and do my hair. She concentrates so hard to get my hair around her curling iron using the hair brush to steady it. I love her obsession with necklaces and bracelets (I need to buy some more normal ones to match her outfits). I love that she pulls out some of my old bras and puts them on. Have I mentioned that she is very girlie?:) haha.

Well if you can't tell I LOVE everything about her, well... minus her crazy fits when she doesn't get what she wants I (which happens a lot:).

I know I missed a million things that I love about her, but we all get the point - this girl is VERY loved. The world revolves around her and her progress in life whether it is her learning, growing, health, happiness, etc. whatever it may be, we want it for her. And now I understand why our Heavenly Father wants the best for us and why he created such an amazing plan. If I could wish for one thing, it would be to have His love and teach Quinn of His love so that she will realize her purpose and potential in life. I am so grateful for this sweet girl and don't know where or who I would be without her. She is one of the best things that has happened to me.

A Princess and her Prince Charming

2012-01-26T12:08:00.000-08:00

Can you just tell that I melt when Steve plays with his little girl!??!! It means more to me, that he gives her attention and treats her like a princess, than him doing it for me.

Quinn loves to put her princess dress-up on and dance with her Prince:)

We were at Costco the other week and Steve was walking around with Quinn so that I could shop in peace and they roamed over to the flowers. When we got in the car he had told me of their visit to the flower section and how much Quinn LOVED touching and smelling the flowers. The next week Steve came home a little late from work with the flowers Quinn liked! She was so happy! (he got me some as well:)

I hope these two stay best friends forever!!

Our Poor Sick Baby

2012-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Quinn has been sick this whole last month since Christmas and now she is teething... We are 100% ready to have our normal little baby girl back. This last month we did lots of lounging, playing in her kitchen, at her table, and pretty much anywhere she wanted to play in the house, eating whatever she wanted (she becomes a picky eater when she is sick), and sleeping. Luckily we only had a few long nights and the rest of the days she took long naps, which I am sure was due to her sickness.

The first cold/flu was associated with an earache, fever, achey body (I know because I caught the bug as well), congestion, runny nose, cough, etc. She was completely better for four days and somehow within those four days of finally getting out of the house she caught Croup... Scary, right? We went to the doctor and she was given a dose of steroids (I didn't like that one bit but I guess it is better than being sent to the ICU hooked up to oxygen). The good thing about Croup is that if you get those steroids it only lasts about 3-4 days and then right after that barking cough comes major congestion and a normal mucus cough. So now we are better but after a week of being free of the Croup she is still trying to get rid of some congestion and a little cough.

Let's just say the winter hasn't been good to us as far as sickness go.

Quinn loved helping me make smoothies. It was one thing she would eat and I was sooo glad because we put tons of fruit in it!

Hanging out with dad eating cheese. She LOVES cheese and she will eat it when she is sick.

Playing at her table is pretty much an all day event since this one time.

Steve took her in her room and told her that they were going to go on a date and this was it! I was dying and took tons of pictures. I LOVE these two together!

Hopefully we can stay clear of any other sicknesses until next year (wishful thinking...)!!

Parker Gurr

2012-01-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Kimi, Chance and Halle welcomed this little boy into the world on January 11, 2012 at 4:16 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz, and was 19 and a half inches long. He is such a cutie and we were so glad that we were able to be there to meet him that evening!

Quinn was soo funny! She wanted to sit on the bed and just hang out with Kimi! Aren't kids usually afraid of those crazy hospital beds? haha...

...Halle was:)

The gang, minus the rest of Cami's crew

Cute new family of four!

The Gurr's and Kimi's sweet parents!

We are so happy for them and their growing family! It makes us even more excited to meet our little guy:) Congrats guys!!

Sledding!

2012-01-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

We went sledding sledding with the Thompsons and the Gurrs and we had a blast! Sledding is soooo much more fun with Quinn! She is a wild little one and we love her because of it!

After spinning around and pretty much falling off she got herself repositioned on her stomach, haha! I can not believe that she isn't scared to go face first!

Cute Halle!!

Poor Luke was tired and not really sure about all of the snow and sleds. He was such a good sort anyway!! Look at those little faces, I am obsessed!

Halle LOVED sledding as well!! She was an animal as well! She didn't even care when she flipped over like this. I love it!

This made me nervous! These boys had too much fun and they seriously think Quinn is invincible...

Steve was pushing super fast and so was Chris... take note that Steve isn't even holding on to Quinn. You better believe I was yelling!

This makes me laugh. She was just laying down and enjoying the ride.

Cute friends!!

Luke was a little snuggle bug after all of the sledding!! He is such a darling boy!!

We will definitely be doing more sledding!!

New Years Eve

2012-01-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

Our New Years Eve was low key, but perfect! Quinn had a cold from Christmas and we just decided to grab some party blowers and go to town at home:)

If you can't tell from the pics below, we all had the time of our lives. I think Quinn is singing or screaming in this picture, she does a lot of both:)

Couldn't have thought of a better way to spend New Years Eve. I LOVE this little family of mine!!

Oh and don't you love Quinn's party outfit?:) haha

*Of course we put Quinn to bed at 8:30ish but can you believe that I was ready to go to bed at 9? I pushed it to 11:00 and we toasted (saying that it was New Years for someone in the world:) and then went to bed. I'm getting too old for this 12 o' clock stuff!

Visits

2011-12-27T23:01:00.000-08:00

While in California we were able to do a few REALLY important things. The first was seeing Steve's cousin Marissa who was in the ICU after a terrible car accident and the second was seeing my sweet Grandpa who is just oh so lonely and always ready for visitors.

Luckily the day worked out perfect. We drove to Riverside and visited with Marissa who looked amazing for all that she had gone through (fractured pelvis, brain hemorrhage, fractured ribs, etc.). We really enjoyed the couple hours that we got to spend with her sweet parents (Uncle David and Aunt Gayle) and also our Uncle Darrell and cousin Austin who were there visiting as well.

Next we drove back passed Glendora to meet the Brasher family at Grandpa Packs house. We were so grateful for their willingness to take Quinn with them after her nap so that our day could be a bit more focused and not so hectic.

Here is our sweet Grandpa Pack, who we adore and love dearly. I was so happy that we were able to visit him.

Although I struggled with the idea of having such a long day, after all of the visits were done I was so glad that we had gone. It was the most important thing we could have done this trip. I feel so blessed for family who is so loving and supportive, makes me feel good when I can offer a little bit of the support that they have abundantly given me.

Farrell's and Grandma's Birthday!

2011-12-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant??!!! If not you need to go. It is an ice cream parlor with TONS of fun and entertainment. We enjoyed ourselves too much!

It was Grandma's/mom's birthday and she had to stand up on her chair while everyone sang. She didn't love that but was a great sport!! We LOVE her so much!

Why not celebrate Haylie's bday again?!:)

We ordered this HUGE, did I say huge? I meant gigantic bowl of ice cream, cake, sundae thing, called "the Zoo." If your party eats it all then you get to run around the restaurant with the bowl while everyone sings, stares and a loud siren goes off. Of course we ate every last piece of it and we all felt sick but it was totally worth it. Our family loves embarrassing themselves:)

Quinn was getting antsy. This picture explains how Steve and I were feeling... haha

What a fun night!!! Happy Birthday Grandma/Mom!!! We love you so much!!

Haylie's 1st Birthday!

2011-12-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sweet Haylie turned one!! Deniese planned a second little "pre-party" for us and we loved that we were able to be apart of such a special day! Isn't she the cutest!!!???!! I love her to pieces!

We went to Shakey's Pizza for dinner and the kids were in heaven!!! We had a blast!

The three girls spent most of the trip in this thing, haha.

Of course she climb up all the games...

After we went to my parents house and opened presents and ate cake!

She LOVED her doll!! So Cute!

Her big brother helped her blow out the candle, I don't think she liked that much!

She rubbed the cake on her belly and everywhere else instead of eating it. Funny girl!

Happy Happy birthday Haylie girl! We love you and are so happy that you are apart of our family! We have seen many miracles in your life this last year and we know that we are truly blessed.

California Fun

2011-12-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

Our quick trip to California was mainly spent outside soaking up the California sun/weather. I think going "home" is a bad thing because it makes me dread coming back to the cold weather. I just hate being stuck inside all day with such an active child.

Quinn LOVED the trampoline! I wish we had a gated back yard in a not so busy area so that I could buy one for her this summer. I think she would play on it all day. She had pretty good balance and would try to keep up with the big kids who enjoyed trying to get her to fall, she loved that too:) When Quinn wasn't occupied with her cousins, aunt & uncles she would try to escape out the back door (she was obviously unsuccessful every time because we made sure the door was always locked, but there was lots of whining going on at that door:).

She also loved to sit next to her Uncle Derek and "play"video games. I think that with all the big kids around she thought she was one of them. It was really cute.

Of course the boys had to ride the quads. Quinn was terrified at first because it was big and loud, but she warmed up VERY quickly. She wanted to be on it all the time after the first ride.

The three of them piled on the bike to go up the street to the nursery where they could ride in the dirt and go up and down the hills. Quinn and I walked all the way over there and we seriously loved every second of it. I miss going on walks:(

We took a water break. I LOVE this sweet face.

LOVING the quad with her grandpa (she calls him "papa," because she can't quite get the "grand" part yet)

Riding the bike (with lots of help of course)

Once she would get off of one she would look for the another, haha.

Aunt Merissa and Uncle Blake were great sports and pushed her around on Pierce's scooter, up and down the street.

Dear California Weather,

Please come our way!!! We miss you more than words can explain.

The Thompsons

22 weeks!

2011-12-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

I can not believe that I am passed half way already!! Time is flying and I think that it needs to slow down. It is crazy how fast I wanted my first pregnancy to go, each day was pure torture. I just wanted to meet her and snuggle her forever. Now that I have Quinn, we have become the best of buds. She NEEDS/WANTS me every second of every day. We are attached at the hip. So... Even though I LOVE this baby boy in my belly with all my heart, I may not want this pregnancy to fly by the way it has. I want to be able to enjoy the moments that I feel him move and kick; I want to embrace this pregnancy the way I did with Quinn; and let's be honest, I want to be able to hold another baby, without Quinn screaming, before this sweet baby boy comes along. That would help me a ton. I am fearful of the jealousy that will come. I want to be able to snuggle my two best friends at the same time, but I am scared that wont be possible. Well enough about that... I am sooo excited to have two babies (literally:). I am up for the challenge and it becomes more real each day. For now I am enjoying 'me and Quinn time.' It is seriously the best. I love her like crazy, I can't even describe it. She is a little stinker sometimes and very needy most of the time (which drives me nuts, some of the time) but I seriously wouldn't change a thing about her. Can't wait to see how different/similar my two babies are! I LOVE them both so much!

17.5 weeks

19 weeks

Christmas Activities

2011-12-21T13:19:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of our Christmas Activities! (picture overload, as always)

Hunting for a Christmas Tree at Home Depot. One of these years we will go to cut down our own tree, but for now Home Depot is great:)

Our Christmas Decor. It isn't much but it made it feel like Christmas and that is all that matters!

Making gingerbread houses! This was Quinn's first time, she LOVED it!

She was really good at sticking the candy on the house and then eating some at the same time:) She would push the candy on the house so hard that the house kept collapsing.

Temple Square with Mimi, Papa and the Coombs!

What a fun time of year!!

Our Christmas in Holladay

2011-12-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

We had our own little Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the weekend before Christmas here in Holladay. It was nice because Quinn was able to enjoy her larger presents that we obviously weren't able to travel with. Let's just say this will be a tradition if we travel for Christmas again.

Here is our tired girl on Christmas Eve!

We sang lots of Christmas songs and danced to quite a few too. If Quinn hears any music she HAS to dance, even at church:)

When did she get so big?!!

She is dancing here:)

Looks like she is busting out the Roger Rabbit here:)! haha

Steve and I exchanged our Christmas gifts the night before. I got Steve a Kinect (first game system since we have been married. Can you believe that Steve survived 3 1/2 years?? He could have made it longer but I thought that this would be a fun system to have). Steve got me a Mac Book Pro! I was so excited but then I seriously have problems when someone buys me something expensive... I started to feel like "I don't really NEED that." I know that our lap top is on its last leg but I just feel like maybe I'm not too lazy to sit at the desktop, haha. So I ended up returning it. Poor Steve has to put up with me...

Christmas Morning!!

I didn't write any captions to these pictures because I think that they explain themselves. She was SOOOO happy when she saw all of her gifts! It was seriously the best Christmas! Just watching her sweet face light up was the best gift.

17 months

2011-12-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Quinn is 17 months! What??!!! Crazy...

Here are some updates:

-She sprints everywhere. She has been running for months but seriously I can not take my eyes off of this girl or else she will be gone. I can't even keep up.

-She jumps REALLY well now.

-Quinn is VERY concerned about getting her way... If she doesn't get what she wants (as in us playing with her, or following her where she wants to go - not materialistic things)... there is a melt down.

-She is getting a little more picky about what she is eating.

-Still obsessed with her piggy stuffed animal and needs it when she sleeps.

-STILL teething...

-She is learning her letters from the leap frog letter factory movie. She recognizes and can make the sounds of 13 letters, and the rest are hit and miss (depending on how hard she is trying).

-She has just started trying to copy things we say. Again, only when she is in the mood, which isn't very often...

-Finally started calling me "mama" instead of "dada" haha. She knew how to say "mama" but never used it as my name.

-Started drinking milk randomly and now she loves it.

-She has mastered going down the stairs forward but it really makes me nervous. She has always tried this since the end of last summer, but we never really let her practice or try without sitting on her butt, which she would hardly do. Oh well, I guess she finally learned the way SHE wanted too:) She got really brave once and decided to try it without holding onto anything (in the middle of the stairs) and fell down a couple, flipping over a few times... it scared me half to death.

I can't really think of much else. She is a doll and I LOVE her to pieces. Seriously though, I'm pretty obsessed:)

Kimi's Shower!

2011-12-14T23:16:00.000-08:00

My good friend Kimi is expecting a baby boy! I am beyond thrilled for her and so excited that we will have another baby within a few months of each other! Cami and I decided to throw a little shower for her at the Pizza factory in Provo. It was a perfect little shower with lots of gifts, good dessert and great company. Now she is ready for her sweet baby boy to come!!

I snagged this picture of Cole who was sitting across the table from me. I couldn't help it! I was starring at his cute little face the whole night!

Congrats Kimi and Chance! Can't wait to meet little Baby Boy Gurr!!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

The AMAZING Elise Capener took our pictures again this year! We love her and are so glad that we caught her when she was in Utah over the holidays. Thanks so much Elise!

Visit from the Pack Family!!

2011-12-10T14:39:00.001-08:00

My brother Dave, sister Deniese and their adorable kids - David and Haylie came to visit us (The Thompsons and Brashers:) It was so fun to have them here, it makes us wish that we could live next to them and see them everyday. Maybe one of these years... :(

We went to Sugar House Park because they wanted us to snap a few pictures for their Christmas cards and we decided to join in on the fun.

It was freezing! Poor kiddos.

Later we ate dinner together! Don't mind the Halloween plates, they were some of the only paper plates I had, haha.

Here are the kids looking out the window...

Then Steve decided to scare them! They loved it. Look at that creepy face, haha.

They kept knocking and waiting for him to come back.

Can you tell that the cousins LOVED playing with each other??!! It is so crazy how many kids there are now! I LOVE it!!

We don't really know what they were doing but I'm pretty sure they were telling secrets in gibberish, haha.

Haylie is sooooo cute!!!

Trying to get a picture of all of them sitting still and looking at the camera = impossible.

The fun uncle playing video games with the boys.

Sharing her tooth brush??? Gross.

They all LOVED this car!

Waking Haylie up to get ready for the day. Can you believe that these kids sleep in until 12!!???!! I am so jealous!!

I'm the pro showing them how to ride this plasma car:)

Yeah I am probably going to break it one day:)

This is my favorite picture!!! Poor Tinley looks like she is being strangled but David is having the time of his life, haha.

Getting ready for church! They even had a special treat and got to shake President Monson's hand!

We had such a fun 4 days with them!! It was fun seeing the Brashers every day too!! I really wish we could all live a minute away from each other so that we didn't have any excuses not to see each other on a regular basis. It would be so fun for all of the cousins to grow up together!

Thanks so much for visiting us. We loved every second of it.

*Oh and they even got to go to the mall with us to find out that we were having a boy. It was fun to have them be apart of it and they definitely helped Steve pull off his surprise!

Very Thankful

2011-11-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

Steve and I are so blessed. We have a lot to be thankful for and I am grateful for that reminder at this time of year. Our Thanksgiving was very busy and packed with very meaningful and fun gatherings.

First our Aunt Kathy (Thompson side of the family) invited us to the cabin they were staying at in Park City (the Monday before Thanksgiving) and we had a wonderful evening with some of our extended family! We ate delicious soups, dips and pies, what more could we ask for?! It was so fun to be able to see them and spend some quality time with them. Thanks!

Here are a few pictures of the CUTE cousins!!

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving we flew out to Oregon to be with the Bybee's. Nicole is always so very thoughtful and made a lot of effort to make it possible for Carson to be baptized the weekend we were out there. We were so glad to be apart of such a special event. I can not believe that Carson is 8! Where did that little chubby baby go? It is crazy to see how they mature in such a quick time. He is a very sweet boy and is always looking out for others. We are so proud of the decision he made to be baptized!

Just flew into Portland and stopped to get a bite to eat with Mimi and Papa! ... Quinn is definitely a dipper like her mama!

Morning of Carson's baptism! We had a tired girl!
I can not believe that I didn't get a single picture on Thanksgiving or the day of Carson's baptism... The worst part is that I lugged around my camera in my diaper bag the whole trip! I'm so mad at myself!

Steve's Great Grandmother Ashman passed away a few days before Thanksgiving so we changed our plans a little and left Oregon early to fly to Las Vegas Friday evening. Once we arrived in Vegas we drove up to St. George that evening as well.

That following morning we were able to gather with extended family to celebrate Grandma Ashman's wonderful and very amazing life. I never got to know her too well, but her family is incredible so that says everything about her. We are grateful for her and her example to us and our family.

Overall, it was such a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are very grateful for Nicole, Amy and their families for accommodating us in both Oregon and St. George. It wouldn't have been possible without such generous people that were so willing to help.

We are also thankful for all of our family and friends who send their love our way on a daily basis. We love you!

16 months

2011-11-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

Quinn is 16 months! It is crazy that she is so old, but some days I think she is older than she is because everyone thinks she is 2! Good thing she isn't two because I would have a heart attack, she can't be growing up this fast.
I seriously love Quinn more than words can ever describe. It is crazy how often I am tired or think that I don't have enough energy to take care of her, but how my body just pushes through all of that to care for such a fun, spunky, wild, and sweet girl. She steals my heart daily and I fall in love with her more and more. She is my everything and I can not get enough of her. She is very determined and full of life. Everyday I say to myself, "This was totally me as a toddler... How did my parents put up with me?" But hey, I am sure glad they did!
I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH QUINN!!

Here is what she is doing:

- Quinn LOVES to dance. I think that I am safe to say this is her favorite thing to do right now. She always insists that we stand up and dance with her.
- She loves shoes and especially mommy and daddy's shoes. Her tiny, chubby feet are so cute in those oversized shoes of ours.
-She is still a very good eater. If she is mad at me or if something is too hot (or even just warm) she will spit it out. She always needs to be doing something in her highchair or else she will stand up and want to get out. She also throws many fits in her high chair because she gets fed up with sitting down and eating...
- She always says "thank you", "you're welcome" and "there you go"... of course they don't sound exactly like this but you know, they are pretty close! She started saying "kisses" when she wanted kisses or when we give her kisses. It is so cute, I can't stand it.
-She is doesn't say "no" all of the time anymore which is amazing.
-Whenever I ask her to do something she looks at me, says something with her eyebrows lifted and little face looking right at me while her hands are out to the side. It is almost as if she is trying to reason with me.
- She still sleeps 12 hours at night. She is on the 8pm-8am schedule. She takes a 1.5-2 hour nap every day at around 12. I enjoy this very much:)
- Let's not sugar coat this, she throws fits all.of.the.time when she doesn't get her way. I am trying to be better at disciplining her and letting her know that her behavior is not okay, but it is hard. It may take awhile. She listens to Steve more than me. She just cries really hard if I tell her she can't have/do something, almost as if she gets her feelings hurt. She knows that I feel bad when she cries like that. Toddlers are too smart!
- She still LOVES books. It's funny because now she will take a book/magazine (the friend or a toy magazine) and she will look at each picture for awhile. It is funny because she will sit and "read" a toy store ad/magazine for 15 minutes straight. I always wonder what she is thinking.
- Quinn is obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She has been for awhile but I think her love for them is growing deeper:)

Jude or Parks?!

2011-11-16T19:48:00.001-08:00

So Steve surprised me while my brother, sister and kids were in town and took me to find out what sex the baby was!! I was so surprised when we drove up to the mall and VERY excited! To be honest I thought I was having another girl, I am so bad with this gender guessing stuff. I swore Quinn was a boy and we had her name picked out from the day we conceived:) Steve has always loved the name Jude but back then I was not about to name my child that. For some reason I just didn't love it. Couldn't figure out if it sounded like a girly name. Sooo Steve had heard the name Parks Bonifay (the wake boarder, who isn't a good example at all but I guess that doesn't mean anything) and we instantly fell in love. She was going to be Parks/Parx Michael and it was a perfect fit until.... we found out she was a girl!! I think I just have some kind of attachment to that name. Anyways over the last couple of years I have grown to love the name Jude and Jude Michael sounds perfect now, but I still love the name Parks.... What to do, what to do.... Anyways, I don't think we will need any persuasion (if that's what it sounds like I am looking for) but I just wanted to start documenting my thoughts (I did this for Quinn in her baby book but I haven't bought one for the little guy yet, so I don't want him to miss out:)

Going back to the ultrasound... Baby was not cooperating at first. Always turning his back toward us. This was so different from Quinn because she was just wild. I promise she was moving her arms and legs 100 mph (they were blurred in almost every ultrasound picture because they were going so fast). I don't know if it was something I ate or what but she was crazy. This little guy was like "stop bothering me." After some repositioning and a little strawberry lemonade he flipped over and we got the perfect shot of his boy parts:) Steve and I were thrilled!!! I remember saying,"Steve we are having a boy!! Let me see your face!" The ultrasound tech was in the way so Steve leaned forward and he had that big smirk/grin on his face, the one he does when he is in shock and excited beyond belief. I love my husband.

So to sum this up, we are soooo excited to have one of each. Yes, a healthy baby of either gender is perfect but one girl and one boy is a bonus!

We love you so much already Baby Boy Thompson!!!

Bowling

2011-11-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

One cold Saturday we decided to go bowling! It was Quinn's first time and she had fun! Unfortunately they didn't have those nice little stands for the kids to roll their balls down because we went to a ghetto bowling alley, but she still seemed to have fun:)

The funny thing is that she beat me! haha!! We love having family time together:)

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Quinn is obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse so although she couldn't tell us what she wanted to be, we figured this was a pretty good bet:)

It's hard to get a good picture of a 15 month old so bare with me, there are a million pictures!!

Steve's work has trick or treating the day of Halloween so we ran over at the end (so that Steve could go with us) and did some trick or treating!

Luke and Quinn LOVE each other! They both get so excited when they see each other!

Cutest dinosaur ever!

Running down the halls to get candy!

Cute Cass and Luke!

Popeye and Minnie! (I quickly put together a repeat costume for Steve. I wish we would have kept the other one so that I didn't have to make it again... Oh well!)

patiently waiting in the elevator for more trick or treating

Having fun together!

Love these two!

Quinn is getting over a cold and is on antibiotic but luckily the weather was pretty nice so we were able to take Quinn trick or treating to a few houses! I was a little hesitant because I didn't want her to get sick but I'm so glad we did because she LOVED it.

Running down the streets and waving!

Love my little nephew Luke!!

Cute Thompsons!!

Trick or Treat!! ... It was funny because we went trick or treating on Chris and Cassie's block so they knew almost everyone in their community. With that being said, one of the first houses we went to belonged to an older woman who seemed to be single/widowed (correct me if I'm wrong Cass or Chris) and so of course she invited us in to get our candy. Quinn took her hand walked up the step and went right into her house (scary right? who teaches that girl these things!!). Anyways we all went in and chatted with her for a second and Quinn ran around her house touching everything, like she owned the place. She loved it.... The next house we went to (and almost every house after), the people opened their door and Quinn would try to walk into their house to get her candy and run around, haha. It was pretty funny.
Quinn definitely got the hang of it! She was so good at waiting at the door and then taking candy one piece at a time (but over and over until the people would stop her, haha. that a girl:).

The crew!

Brothers!

Waiting for the next door to open!

Luke LOVED his sugar daddy and even walked 8 steps to get it!! That was the furthest he had walked so far and a huge milestone! He is only 10.5 months!!

Quinn was eating the paper off her sucker so Steve decided to take off the wrapper and let her have it. She was one lucky and very happy girl!

Luke and Quinn seriously have so much fun playing together!! They were both so tired but having too much fun so we didn't want to leave.

It was the perfect day!! Hope yours was too! Happy Halloween!

brushing teeth

2011-10-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

This girl loves her stool and LOVES her toothbrush.

Pics taken right after her bath, hence the slicked, wet hair:)

Let's be honest she will sneak in a few sucks of toothpaste here and there but I'm okay with that as long as she brushes too!

Brushing!

Sometimes she sticks her toothbrush under the water for a minute straight. She loves that part too:)

I got this stool from Downeast for only $10. It is a potterybarn stool but was sent to downeast because someone returned it with a name on it. I figured I'd buy it because Quinn's middle name is Olivia and it is better than all of the other stools I've seen with weird butterflies on them. It works right?:)

She is growing up too fast!

It is so nice that she likes to brush her teeth, sometimes she even brushes them 4 times a day (that is more than me!!) Hopefully she will always have good oral hygiene!

Basketball

2011-10-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that city league/rec center basketball gets a little out of hand... It's not for wusses.

Day at the Zoo

2011-10-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Meg and Max Bewsey have passes to Hogle Zoo so they invited us to go with them one day! I was so excited because Quinn had never been to the Zoo, can you believe that??!! She loves animals and really enjoyed watching all of the animals (especially the monkeys).

Max and Quinn watching the monkeys

Quinn watching the elephants

Cute Max

Can you tell that they weren't thrilled that I was taking pics of them while they were trying to see the animals?! haha

Meg and Max

Meg and Max again ( I was trying to get the lighting right but obviously it got worse... I need to learn how to work my camera)

Wow!!

Did you see that??!

It was so hot that we bought dip n dots (yum, I want some now) and then decided to go on the carousel. So I obviously took Quinn out of her stroller to go on the carousel and she loved it but did not want to get back in her stroller. She threw one of her extremely crazy fits - meaning she is stronger than me and I can not even control her... luckily Meg was nice enough to help me hold her down that I could buckle her in. Lets be honest though, I took her out a couple minutes later because she was so upset. She ended up being happy when I let her play in the water!!

Quinn and her friend Adele

It was a fun day at the Zoo! We will have to get passes soon so that we can join the Bewsey's every time. Thanks again for the fun day!

15 months

2011-10-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

I know I say this every month but I seriously feel like Quinn learned SO much this last month!! I didn't write anything down so I am going to have a really hard time remembering everything:(

-We went to the doctor today and she weighs 24lbs. (68th), 32 1/2 inches long (95th), and head circumference is 19 inches (95th). Oh and she HATES the doctors. She was kicking and screaming so much that I thought something was seriously wrong with her. The doctor just kept saying, "it's probably me that she is upset with, they usually start to recognize the office and they hate it." I totally didn't believe her. But... right when we walked out of the office she calmed down and started to smile (the mickey mouse sticker we got when we left probably helped a lot). The doctor was totally right. It is crazy that they start to hate the doctors at such a young age!! I guess it is all of those shots they get:(

- She learned to say "cool!" She says "Jesus" (she-shus) when she sees pictures of him. She says "no, no" (in a sad, drawn out tone) all.of.the.time. It makes me sad because when she drops something she will occasionally throw out her "uh, oh" like she use to but most of the time she says "no, noooo!" Almost as if she is saying "I can't believe I just did that, it makes me sad." Steve and I NEVER say "no" anymore and instead we say "yes"but she completely stopped saying "yeah" like she use to. If we ask her a question she will ALWAYS say "no." Sometimes it's funny, but most of the time I feel like a terrible mom. She had to have learned it somewhere.

-She throws her hands up and out when she is looking for something and then she mumbles something in her cute high pitched ton and then finds the item and says something that sometimes sounds exactly like "there it is!" My favorite!

-When we ask her to fold her arms (for a prayer) she will do it almost all of the time unless she is STARVING. If we forget she will mumble something during her dinner, telling me we forgot to pray (happens in the morning when she is starving and throwing a little fit) and then she will fold her arms.

-She runs so fast!! She has a little bounce when she gets going fast and half the time I swear she is going to fall but she seriously amazes me at how coordinated she can be.

-She LOVES the park, especially the swings. She could sit in the swing for hours while I push her if I let her.

-She was napping from 1130am- 1pm and then again from 4pm - 515pm and sleeping at night from 9pm - 9:30am until a couple days ago. Now she is fighting her second nap and sleeps from 9pm - 8am. I think I am going to have to adjust her nap schedule soon and maybe that will help her sleep longer at night.

-She still eats her baby oatmeal, milk, yogurt, and applesauce for breakfast and prefers that over anything else in the morning. I've tried to give her other things when we were out of oatmeal but she only took a few bites.

-She is learning to jump! When we say "bend and jump!" she will bend down and throw her hands up. She gets about a half inch off the ground once or twice a day so that is a start.

-She has really progressed with the stairs. I still don't trust her next to a flight of stairs by herself but most the time she can get down them with a spotter. She is getting really good at going forward down a couple stairs at a time by herself.

-About a week ago she refused to sit in her highchair. She kicked and screamed to the point of me not being able to get her in her highchair. She is such a strong little girl! After that whole episode she cried for about 20 minutes straight and wouldn't calm down. I finally held her tight and looked her straight in the eyes and sang some primary songs and she calmed down after a few minutes. Poor girl was starving and just wanted to eat breakfast at the big table, but I seriously didn't know what was wrong until lunch time rolled around and it happened again. We finally came to a conclusion, now she sits in her highchair without the tray at the big table. She is a happy camper and so are we because she can still be buckled in.

-She loves to take showers with me so she only gets a bath a couple times a week and a shower all of the other days.

-We have limited TV to only a couple shows a week. I'm serious when I say that this girl could watch TV everyday, all day if I let her. We try to keep it off most days but like today we don't have plans so I figure a show wont hurt and it will help break up the day. She loves PBS shows "word world", "sid the science kid" and "dinosaur train." Of course she loves Mickey Mouse Club House (her all time favorite) but she only gets that on special days or at restaurants when she doesn't want to let us enjoy our meal:)

-She is obsessed with climbing on the coffee table and dancing on it. She also loves to climb on the couch and run on it. It scares me to death because she gets so close to the edge every time!

-She loves chairs. She will get onto any and every chair she can. I always have to make sure I push our dining chairs in all the way because if I don't she ends up on top of the table. Luckily our chairs are SO heavy that she can't pull them out herself. I'm sure in a couple weeks she will figure it out.

-She still loves to eat and still isn't drinking milk. I always try to put it into anything I make for her and she eats yogurt but no milk in a sippy:( I may not be trying hard enough because it is so frustrating when I pour her some milk and have to throw it out every time. With in time I'm sure she will drink it.

-She knows how to open and close the dvd player which is kind of annoying!! haha. She also figured out how to turn on the TV today (hopefully she forgets that one).

-She is very confident on her slide and swing in the backyard. I don't have to stand next to her anymore. I usually sit on the step and watch her.

-She uses a fork to eat! Still doesn't use the spoon very well but she is a pro with the fork and prefers it over her fingers most the time.

-She loves to do anything her daddy does. She is still obsessed with him, which I LOVE.

-Her baby doll is becoming one of her favorite toys. She is SO cute with her. She will rock her and hold her up on her shoulder and when she is done she will drop her, haha.

-She has two stuffed animals that always stay in her crib - her white dog and her pink pig. She use to prefer the white dog over the pig, but this last month she has been clinging to the pig. It is pretty cute when she snuggles with it.

*I can't think of anything else, but of course I will add to this list as I remember!

These first 8 are from my phone so ignore the quality.

Quinn always carries around the Bjorn so I decided to show her how it works. She LOVED it (there is a pic of her carry her baby in it below. She seriously cried when I didn't put it on her fast enough. She was obsessed with carrying around her babe:)

At Target admiring all of the toys

Double fisting it!

Put her daddys hat on!

Cute sleepy face in the car!

Sitting in her drawer organizer

Loving my cup!

She loves swings!

Sitting on her favorite toy! She seriously has to sit on or in everything.

She insisted that she wear the baby bjorn with her baby in it!

After her nap! How does this happen to her hair??!!

After cute one Sunday!

She was so crazy this day! It was the roughest Sunday yet! Steve had to take her out of sacrament meeting and drive around with her until she fell asleep. She was exhausted. 11am church is hard, but worth it:)

Coloring a picture for daddy!

Her favorite part was putting the color pencils in the box and dumping them back out, over and over.

She LOVES helping daddy work!

She had to get right in on the action! This one is my favorite, she rested her head next to his for the longest time!

She did not want to nap one day so I let her play in her crib because she sounded so happy. About 45 minutes later I went to get her and this is what I found...

Great!! She is already taking off her diaper!

I didn't think I had enough pictures this month so I took her outside to get a few the day she turned 15 months. Ummm... I think I had plenty but here are a million more:)

She LOVES any kind of cup with a straw (preferably from fast food)

This is pretty standard right now. She is getting one of her molars in (almost all the way in) and she is always sticking a figure or even her whole hand in her mouth.

LOVES to slide down backwards!

LOVES sitting in her big girl chair

Obsessing over her cup of water again

LOVE this crazy hair!

Organizing the shoes (or just throwing them all out the door:)

We discovered crinkly fall leaves!

We love this sweet girl sooo much. It is insane how much my love grows for her by the second. Just when I think I can't love anymore she does something that is just so tender/sweet and then I love her even more. Now I know how kids have their parents wrapped around their little fingers... Oh we are in for some trouble with this feisty one! So glad she's mine.

Carving Pumkins

2011-10-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun carving pumpkins! It is nice to be able to have Quinn to share our traditions with. She makes it a lot more enjoyable!

Eating dinner while mom and dad clean out the pumpkin!

The finished product! Simple was our goal:)

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

We have tried to make it a tradition to go to a pumpkin patch because it is just so much more fun than getting pumpkins at the store! We always get to go with the Coombs so it makes it extra special!

Lucy was loving this mini wheelbarrow. It was so cute!

We weren't very photogenic this day:)

It was a fun day! We found some good pumpkins!

14 months

2011-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on this post!! I feel like I have been so busy this last month, but I can always think of a good excuse for not posting:)

This last month has flown by, our little baby is acting more and more like a "big girl" everyday. She does the cutest things and has the cutest/cheesiest smile!! I seriously love her to pieces.

- She just started saying "Stee" for "Steve" (I guess I yell his name too much:). "Tank do" (or something like that) for "Thank you." She also says "Papa." It's funny because we taught her to say "Papa" and then she wouldn't even say it once when we were around Papa, but then she said it right when we got home... That stinker! She says "moe" when she wants more; she says "ca" for car; she finally calls me "mama" instead of "nana"; if I ask her to say shoe she says "shea".. I'm sure there are a million other things I am missing, but that is a little update on her vocabulary for this last month.

-She still doesn't drink milk, even with chocolate in it, unless we trick her and drink it out of a soft drink cup and then share it with her:) ... But she eats lots of yogurt, and has milk in her oatmeal every morning so I think she is doing fine. I just wish she would drink milk!!

- She is even more obsessed with her daddy. I really didn't think it was possible but it is... She has a melt down every time he leaves. It is sooo sad, but kind of REALLY cute:)

- She has been doing this new thing when she runs where she bends over and puts her hands back behind her, haha. She also stands on one leg and holds her other leg up pretty high, she has pretty good balance and coordination for her age. She loves to dance with her daddy. They do cute dances where they hold hands and touch their feet together and then they will separate and run in circles. I love them.

-She loves to figure things out. I give her one toys that she has to do something with and she will play with it for 15 minutes at a time (which to me is a long time for a 13/14 month old).

-She will still eat pretty much anything we give her, which is soooo nice!

-She is about 23.5 lbs. Which means she gained 2 pounds in 2 months!!

-Quinn will blow on her food if she thinks it is hot. She also started to blow kisses, only when she wants to:)

Still LOVES bath time!!

She had to show her baby how fun sitting in the tray is:)

Eating cheese, her favorite!!

Playing in the pillows!

Funny story... I am ALWAYS telling Steve to watch out for his drink because Quinn is around, or I am constantly picking up his bowls or cups left on the coffee table. Well, this time it was just me and Quinn:) I got her up for a nap and of course I was drinking Hawaiian Punch while she was napping... somehow I walked into the kitchen for two seconds and Quinn comes running in yelling with excitement and holding my cup up high, almost as if she was saying, "Look Mom, I got your cup and I drank out of it like a big girl! It was sooo tasty!" I about had a heart attack because I saw the mess on her outfit and could only imagine what the couches/carpets/rug looked like. I felt bad because when I took the cup away she had a MAJOR melt down. Lets be honest, she LOVED all of the sugar in the drink and hasn't probably ever tasted anything like it, haha.

So sad

Stomping her feet

I love this picture. It totally explains how she was feeling - it was the end of the world:)

She got calm two seconds later and started pointing at the cup as babbling - trying to tell me that she wanted it. Like I didn't know:) haha. Hey at least she tried right? I always tell her to use her "big girl" words.

So while cleaning up the mess I put her in her highchair to eat some spaghetti and this is what I come back to... Another disaster! I seriously couldn't help but laugh out loud!

The look of innocence

And then a smirk:)

One morning she insisted that she bring her dog to breakfast

Loving Cafe Rio

Morning face

Morning diaper

Morning walk?? haha

Face paint!

This day Quinn brought me her tutu (from her newborn pictures) and her fedora hat. She just needed them on to read her books:)

Quinn with all of Daddy's friends from High School

Loving her slide

First friendship bracelet

Loves to snuggle with daddy after naps

I'm obsessed with her cute face!

First time surfing

Sticking her dog bone in the printer and trying to sit on it

Loves to run on the couches and I about die every time. She gets sooo close to falling.

Peek-a boo

She insisted that she wear Daddy's shirt so after she tried putting it on, a few times, we helped her.

She LOVED it!

Sticky notes = Shoes

Looks like she is getting ready to run in her sleep, it seriously wouldn't surprise me.

Max's bday party!

It's fun to sit in so why not lay?!

I LOVE you Quinn!! You are the sweetest, most fun, best, most adorable, girl around!!!

Girls Trip (with kids)

2011-09-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned in my previous post I decided to go to California for my birthday (as my bday present, since I hadn't been for awhile and the flights were only $69 each way!! It was a steal!). Well when Court found out that I was headed out that way she decided to go too. It was fun because my mom and grandparents decided to let us girls go to the beach house for the week! It was a much needed, relaxing trip!

It was so cute when we would look back and see Quinn and Harlow holding hands!

Best buds!

Waiting to go on a walk and watching James Skate!

It was Jess' Birthday the Wednesday we were down at the beach so we walked down to the Newport Pier and got donuts. We decided that it was big enough we could spilt it:) Love me some apple fritter! We seriously couldn't even finish it, I couldn't even think about apple fritter's for the rest of the day!

Loving the Pier!

Quinn and I stayed in the upstairs unit with James. Quinn had a lot of fun with this pan (don't ask me why), she was just a little obsessed.

Jess' Birthday dinner at Cafe Rio!! Eric was so cute and surprised Jess by coming down and eating with us!! He brought her flowers and everything!

This was our last day:( We were sad to leave each other and the beach.

This was our birthday morning!! Can you tell we love each other??!!

Birthday girls!!

The kids had sooo much fun together and of course us girls did too:) We hope that we can make it a tradition and go every couple years. I think it will be even more fun when the little ones don't have to nap and they can play in the sand/water with less supervision. Can't wait for the next trip!!

27.

2011-09-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

I turned 27 in California and got to celebrate with the girls in the morning and with my family at night! It was the perfect day. So glad I got to share it with them.

Quinn got to open some of her birthday presents from grandma and grandpa.

She loved the Goldielocks books and the hand puppets that go along with it!! It was adorable!

My family surprised me pupusas (my FAVORITE food from my mission!!) Grandma and Grandpa Bunker joined us too! Wish I would have got a picture of the whole group!

Oreo cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!!

And Steve sent flowers to the beach house in the morning while I was there!! They were the prettiest most unique tulips I had ever seen. Loved them.

Grandpa with two of his granddaughters!

James made me this amazing birthday sign!! It was the coolest one yet (another family tradition)! I was so impressed that he spent so much time writing it out and then painting it. He is such an amazing brother!!

To end the night Matt, Deniese, David and Haylie stopped by to say hi! We LOVED seeing them. It was the perfect day. Thanks everyone for making my 27th birthday so special!! It is crazy to think that I am getting so much older. Before I know it I will be 30!! Crazy:)

Balboa and Newport

2011-09-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

We had some JetBlue points saved up so Steve decided that he would come out with me to California for the weekend!! I was sooo happy!! We went to the beach house a day early (before the girls trip started) and we enjoyed every second of playing in the sand/sun/water with our little family. We also went to Balboa to kind of celebrate my birthday a little early since Steve wouldn't be there.

Quinn had sooo much fun on all the rides!!

haha, how do we get all of these funny pictures of her??!!!

She loved chasing the birds!!

We ate at a really good mexican place in Newport right across from the ferry to Balboa.

Quinn's first Balboa Bar (our family is obsessed!)

The next morning we got donuts and then went and did a little shopping for Steve. We hit up a couple surf shops (Jack's and PJ's), we always have success when going there.

The trip was so much fun! I wish we lived in California so that all of those things could be weekly activities, but it is probably a good thing we don't:) Thanks Steve and Quinn for such a fun birthday weekend!

Dodger Game

2011-09-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

My mom and dad are always so sweet when we come to stay. When my dad heard we were coming he found some Dodger tickets for our whole family!! We always went to Dodger games as kids so it is a fun tradition.

Nobody liked the music at the beginning of the game especially Blake and Pierce:)

Toward the end of the game we had to pull Mickey Mouse club house out. Seriously though Quinn did so good the entire time. By the time we left it was 11pm Utah time so it was a miracle that she was holding up so well:)

"Take me out to the ball game"

This is Tom my dad's coworker. I have known him since I was 6 years old. He was the one who got us all tickets and it was nice to see him!
*funny story... when I got home from my mission I worked for my dad in his office. Tom worked in the main office so he made phone calls to my dad often. As the receptionist I always answered the calls and sent them through to my dad. Anyways, the first time he called he asked me about my mission and I told him that it was the best.thing.ever. (of course) and he started to tell me that he had a life changing experience as well. Long story short, he went on to tell me that he had gained some serious weight and that he couldn't even fit in his office chair anymore so they had to bring him in a couch to sit on so that he could still work at his desk/computer. He told me about his obsession with food and how he ate boxes of twinkies at a time because he couldn't control himself. He said that the company threatened to fire him if he gained anymore weight. Of course I believed him and was devastated. My pure little return missionary heart was broken and wanted to do everything I could to help him. So, I started to give him all of my self control and diet tips I had learned as a health major and then I said, "I will pray for you Tom. I will pray that you can overcome this temptation and have control over your body and mind..." (remember he is not a very religious man). He said thank you and that ended that. Well, he talked to my dad and told him what he had told me and then my dad comes to me and says, "Britt, you know about Tom?" and then I said, "Yes Dad, I feel terrible... yadda, yadda, yadda...." Well then my dad said, "Well Tom was pulling your leg! He feels so bad because he didn't think you would take it so seriously!" ... haha! Yes, I felt dumb for days. That's what I get for being so naive!!
After seeing him I was reminded of this story and had to document it. Oh Tom, you are quite the character...

All in all it was a great night! Fun to be with family and fun to eat too many peanuts, candy and Dodger dogs! Thanks Dad, Mom and Tom!!

Swimming in CA

2011-09-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

While in California we had to take advantage of my parents swimming pool!!

Quinn had SO much fun with her Aunt Merissa and Uncle Derek! They were so cute with her!!

LOVE this picture!! (even thought they are have their eyes almost shut, haha:)

Quinn is such a fish!

Seriously, how did these kids learn how to dive??!! I guess that is the advantage of having a swimming pool! Their form was perfect every time.

Quinn was even brave and did some jumping herself!

Classic.

We wish we had a pool here in Utah!! Swimming is so much fun!!

Harlow's 2nd Birthday!

2011-09-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

This sweet girl below turned two!! We were so lucky to be able to be apart of the BIG birthday bash! Since Harlow and I share a birthday (and her mommy is just one day before) I decided it would be a fun birthday present for me to be able to go to California and spend time with them!

The party was perfect for such an adorable little girl!! We love you Harlow!!

Okay so this was funny... Quinn ran away (because she is good at getting distracted) and Steve followed her. She ran near the party next to us and of course it was an international party. They thought that Quinn's blonde hair and blue eyes was heaven sent so they had to take pictures with her. It was hysterical!

Seriously I wish the lighting was better (or I wish I knew how to use my camera:) this picture doesn't even do the decor justice. It was all to die for!! Jess and Diane did a fabulous job! I really think it should be featured in a magazine:) I wish I would have taken more pictures of it all.

Quinn was in LOVE with all the balloons!!

Quinn ran over to the monkey bars and of course Steve tested out her strength.

"okay dad, I'm done. I can't hold on any longer!!"

Happy Birthday Harlow girl! Thanks for letting us be apart of your special day!! We love you!

Temple Square

2011-09-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Squires called us one Sunday afternoon and told us they were on their way to temple square so we hopped in the car and went to join them. It was a fun day!! Here are all the pictures.

Love these two

She wanted to go in the water...

tried to get dad to put her in the water...

got mad when he didn't let her go in!

Funny story, Steve thinks he is so funny and kept telling the Squires to kiss as if it was their wedding. Of course the men (Mitch in this situation) LOVE this and the girls (Cami) get a little embarrassed!

Going there someday!

I LOVE THIS DARLING FACE!!!!

It was a fun Sunday afternoon!!

Labor Day

2011-09-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

We had a great Labor Day this year!! We were fortunate enough to have Mom and Dad Thompson's boat for a couple of weeks and that is what really made the day AWESOME! We called the Squires last minute and they hopped in the car and drove up! They were such great company. We always love hanging out with them, we had so much fun!

Here are the pictures from the day

Mitch's first time surfing! He did great!

I had to get this on film because I feel like he is always teaching someone how to surf:)

Cami's first time surfing!

Cami did awesome!! She is so little that the huge waves kept knocking her off the board but she would pop right up every time. Doesn't she fall so gracefully!?! What the heck! I wish I looked like that when I fell:)

Poor Quinn didn't get fed a normal lunch so she was stuffing her face full of goldfish!

So independent over there by herself.

Cute Cooper!!

Isn't Cole the cutest baby you have ever seen??!!! I LOVE him!

Quinn insisted on watching her Daddy. She seriously yelled in excitement at him the whole time. This girl has a good set of lungs:)

Cole LOVES strawberries!

Quinn would have jumped in the water herself if I would have let her, so we figured this was a good time to take her surfing for the first time. You can tell by the look on her face that the water was a little chill, but once they stood up she had the time of her life!

See that smile??!! She loved it and again she was yelling the whole time. It made us all laugh!

She even got good enough to let go of the rope:)

Mitch wakeboarding!

Cooper driving the boat. He loved it!

Sleeping babies!!

Later that night Steve, Quinn and I used a Benihanas free birthday meal! This was totally random but we got put at a table with the police man (his name was Chuck) from the Mary Poppins show! They were a great couple and had the cutest little boy. This was especially exciting because I just saw the show at the Capitol Theater (where they are performing in SLC right now)! I couldn't stop telling him how awesome the show was and how much I loved it. He was very grateful for the compliments and excited that so many people enjoy it.

Anyways, here are some of the pictures from the evening

Have I told you how much I LOVE this girl??!! She is seriously the funniest thing ever. She would have kept this hat on all night if it wasn't so big and didn't fall into her eyes after 5 seconds:)

LOVE that little face!

Th funniest part about this whole singing happy birthday thing, was that the Mary Poppins/theater performers chimed in and they were belting it out pretty much opera style! Hence the smirk on Steve's face. Don't get me wrong it was amazing, but totally unexpected so it kind of threw us off a little:)

Quinn will be a pro with the chopsticks by the time she is 5 with her determination.

I told Steve to give Quinn a kiss and she was fine with it for a second...

And then she said "that's enough daddy!" (look at that hand)

I LOVE how much these two love each other. Quinn is seriously obsessed with her daddy. I couldn't have picked a better man to be a father to my kids. They will be the bestest friends throughout their lives!

She could not stop laughing. Love that she is laughing so hard she couldn't even hold her head up! haha

We had an amazing day! I love my little family!

Face Painting

2011-09-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Steve's work at their annual fundraiser! It was a little carnival that Quinn seemed to enjoy. Everyone gave her free prizes and she was in heaven:) The highlight of the carnival (and the only pictures I got) were of the face painting! The lady was really talented and whipped each picture/face art out in about a minute! I couldn't even believe it! She offered to paint anything we wanted, but it was too hard to think of something we wanted so we asked her to choose what she wanted to paint. I think they all turned out great!!

This is Shelbi who works with Steve! She was also Quinn's first babysitter outside of the family. We love her!

I'm totally sold on getting Quinn's face painted! It thought she looked soooo cute!!

Riding 4 A Reason

2011-08-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

Steve decided that he would train for the "Riding 4 A Reason" century ride. This ride was 101.6 miles (no thank you!). I am so proud of him! To be honest I was a little scared that he wasn't ready (he only rode 54 miles max about 2 times before this ride...), but Steve always seems to amaze me with his ability and endurance when it comes to physical activities/sports!

Here is a description of his ride:

August 20 — Riding for a Reason, Salt Lake City, UT, Toughest Century in Utah! Charity Bike ride, Emigration Canyon to East Canyon to Henefer to Coalville and back, the ride has been extended this year into the toughest century in Utah. (click on this link to read more)

Here is the description of the course (Steve did Flight C):

Where: The ride is an out and back that will begin in Salt Lake and travel to Coalville over Emigration and East Canyon.

Flight A: For those who are up for a challenge Flight A to the top of Big Mountain will be available. Length: 32 miles out and back. Approximate Elevation Gain: 3740 ft.

Flight B: For those who would like a similar experience to year’s past, Flight B to Henefer will be their best option. Length: 69.2 miles out and back. Approximate Elevation Gain: 5811 ft.

Flight C: For avid riders, Flight C to Coalville will provide them with bragging rights for completion of the “Toughest Century in Utah”. Length: 101.6 miles out and back. Approximate Elevation Gain: 7230 ft.

Can you believe that???? An Elevation gain of 7230 ft.???? Insane! This isn't your standard/easy breezy flat surfaced century ride...

Quinn and I decided that we would head up the Canyon at about 10:45am and we didn't find Steve for about an hour. He was already halfway done with the ride when we found him and to be honest I was getting sick of driving up and down huge mountains so I can't even imagine how he was feeling when he was riding his bike!

This is when I first found him!

This picture is when he took a break to see us, get some more water, and stretch his legs. He was still ALL smiles:)

And they were off again!

We passed him again after we played at the park for a few minutes.

Quinn was so good! We were in the car and running around in the mountains for about 5 hours and she didn't even have a nap! She was seriously a good sport. I love my sweet girl.

She looks pretty worn out in this one!

Not too worn out to destroy the diaper bag and everything in it!

This was the last time we saw him because we waited on the top of Big Mountain and said hi and they he went on to finish the ride.

I made him go through the finish line about ten minutes after he arrived. For some reason he didn't want/need to but I told him he had to! You don't finish the ride unless you cross the finish line:)

He rode with two of his co-workers (Dan on the left and Troy in the middle)

I was so proud of him!

He rode the 100 miles in 6.5 hours. Good job Steve! What an accomplishment!

He is already talking about doing it again next year:)