Christmas Morning Memories

Malia was a hoot this year as she realized that fun things lay beneath all of that wrapping paper. This past month has been full of celebrations and they have led her to believe that presents are an everyday occassion. The last few mornings she has ran out to the Christmas tree shouting "pwesents," sorry girlfriend you have a ways to go before more presents come your way. After a relaxing morning we drove up to the cabin for a "White Christmas" Big thanks to Donna, she loved the piano book as you can see below. In case you can't see her jammies read "I have been GOOD all year"

Babe you are looking good!

Malia testing out the Wii fit...she loves to do exercises right next to us

Christmas Card Outtakes

The days are long gone of propping up my sweet pea and taking a million pictures as she happily sits and plays away. I am now trying to capture on film a very active and dare I say moody toddler. Here are just a few (I have about 50 more) outtakes as I attempted to get one shot of her smiling and looking at the camera, which by the way I only got with the help of Stephen who bounced her up and down while I snapped away!

So many hats, so little time

Malia found this hat in her drawer one evening before bed and insisted on wearing it...maybe we need to turn the heater up!

My girlfriend Amy gave Malia a super cute outfit and this adorable hat.

Craigslist fan

Just in the past few months I have become a huge fan of Craigslist. I was skeptical at first but I decided to purchase a tricycle for Malia and was so excited to get a Radio Flyer trike for $20, that is when I got hooked! The site helped us sell our home and now I have purchased Malia's Christmas present, which as you see below she received early. I got this outdoor toy for 1/5 of the retail price and it is in great condition...especially considering it is going to sit outside.

Many faces of Malia

She is definitely Daddy's little girl
Those famous big eyes...now those are from Mommy

Cousin Elijah taught her how to say "Cheese".... I love it

Ahhh, life is returning to normal..whatever that is

I apologize to all of you that I haven't gotten back with in the last month...our life has been crazy! Stephen and I have been praying about selling our home for some time and felt that the right thing to do was sell. We decided to put it on Craigslist and possibly get a realtor after the first of the year. Within two weeks we had awesome buyers who were downsizing and paid cash. Stephen and I were shocked and it took us some time to digest that this was really happening this quickly. It is amazing how God answers prayer and then we have to double check if this is what He really wants. I hope a day comes when I won't be shocked when he answers a prayer so clearly and dramatically. So everything went smoothly and as of Wednesday we are no longer homeowners. We are so thankful that we were able to sell while we were still ahead and we are currently staying with my parents and saving. It is working out great so far and I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with my Grandma who is going back home today. :(

We also squeezed in a trip to Florida in November to honor his Grandma Ott. I am so thankful to have learned more about the Ott's who have left an incredible legacy of love for the Lord to their family. I was so excited to receive a book of prayer that Grandma Ott had put together years ago for her devotions, and to to teach others. What a treasure! I also met Stephen's one and only cousin Derek and his wife Jennifer and their son Elijah who is 6 months older than Malia. They were adorable together and I can't wait to get the pictures from Pamela. We finished up the trip at Disney World with Stephen's Aunt Jenny as our incredible guide. Since we have returned home we have been packing and moving most of our waking hours. We also mixed in some birthday celebrations for Chad, Malia and myself. Now it is time to prepare for Christmas, I plan on keeping things simple and focusing on the Lord's birth. I am grateful for feeling more settled and I can't wait to reconnect with everyone now that things have slowed down a bit.

Malia Grace you are 2!

You were so happy to have everyone singing your favorite song (you had been serenading Mommy and Daddy for the past month)...and then cupcakes to top it all off!
Thank you Malia for bringing so much joy to our lives

The ever adoring Uncles who patiently helped you unwrap all of your gifts

Uncle Chad and Roscoe are ready for a party

she is growing up too fast

The past few months I have caught Malia precariously balancing on top of her crib railing, but she hadn't braved the jump. That changed last week when I put her in her crib with some toys and hopped in the shower...about 2 minutes later little miss thing is knocking on the shower door much to my surprise. The little dare devil thought it was funny to repeatedly jump out of the crib so Stephen converted her crib into a toddler bed. I had been putting this off for as long as possible because the thought of a toddler roaming the house while we were sleeping terrified me. It took a few nights but she is now sleeping in her bed and waiting for Stephen or I to come get her in the morning. This is where I found her the first night after about 6 attempts to come out of her bedroom, she gave up and passed out on the ground.

Our Little Lady

Out celebration was simple this year, on Halloween we visited Nana & Papa, Amy and family, and Donna and Rick stopped by to see the little bug. Once again this year she was happy to play on the driveway and help us hand out candy. Next year...may be an entirely different story.

Malia, Tatum/Cinderella, and Trent

Precious Friends

I love these pictures, kudos to Krissy who captured Malia taking Sam to her playroom, hand in hand. Bill Krissy and Sam are our great friends who moved to Ohio while Krissy and I were both pregnant, Sam is about 6 weeks younger than Malia. The playdate itself was a hilarious encounter and Malia was in a mood I have never seen her in before. Very bossy and also very interested in hugging poor Sam who wasn't so fond of the idea and when she wasn't smothering him she was hitting the poor guy. I don't blame him if he runs for the hills next time he sees her.

Look who's 30!

I couldn't let the month of October slip by without noting Stephen's 30th Birthday. We talked about having a big party, but he said he would rather use the money to spend a weekend away together. So of we went to Cali, specifically Six Flags the weekend prior to Stephen's big day. Interestingly enough Six Flags was the first place we went on a trip...with our friends Becky and Tim who are also now married as well. I have some fun stories to share from that trip...all I will say is chili dogs and 4 people sharing a hotel room do not mix! We both had a great time and as much as we love our little blessing it was sooo nice to have a weekend away...not hauling baby gear, sleeping in past 6, going all day on the rides with no break for nap. The park was fairly empty and we went on back to back rides which eventually caught up with us, we must be getting older. This past weekend we headed up to the cabin to enjoy cooler weather (M loves to run around the deck and pick up rocks) and cuddling up with blankets by the fireplace and finished the weekend off with a birthday dinner and a 30th birthday cheesecake! Happy Birthday Handsome, I am so honored to have you as my husband.

need I say more

she has officially transformed from baby to toddler

when around "Wascal" it is best...

1. to call him by name, he occassionally answers especially if #2 hasn't recently happened

2. that fun little thing that moves around (tail) on the back of "Wascal" is not for pulling

3. Daddy and Mommy make a big deal when I hug the cat

where did my sleeping beauty go

My normally wonderful Sleeping Beauty has only been napping for 1 hour the past few days and waking up screaming insted of her usual cheerful self...all I can say is that I hope this will only last a little while.

on the road again

On our way back to Portland from Seattle we drove through Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, which was my favorite part of the trip. I couldn't believe how much destruction the blast caused...even 30 years later. There were gigantous trees that you can see were snapped like toothpicks when St. Helens erupted. Seeing all of the destruction made me reflect on what a huge, powerful God I serve. I threw in a random pic of Malia exploring a flower at the beach inn that I thought was cute. This was the end our vacation we headed back to Phoenix after a record breaking week of highs, I believe it was the hottest July on record. I am so dissapointed that I missed a week of that month ;)

Mt. Rainier in July

Side of Mt. St. Helens that exploded, hence the crater

It is hard to see but there are small "toothpicks" dotting the landscape, and notice how far away St. Helens is in the background.

Pike Place Fish Market

It was amazing to see all of the fresh produce, fish and best of all flowers. They had beautiful large bouquets for as low as $15. Malia was able to enjoy her first lolipop which kept her entertained as we browsed the market and enjoyed some fresh fish and chips.

Say Cheese

Stephen thought he had died and gone to heaven ;)
How cute are they!

Malia's favorite part of the tour

Views on Cape drive, note the pines and ocean next to each other

Octopus Tree, 46' circumference with no central trunk

Cape Kiwanda

After leaving Portland we decided to take the scenic route, which included a trip up the coast. Our first stop after leaving Portland was historic Oregon City, a drive through beautiful farming communities, Cape Kiwanda beach, then a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory (Stephen's request, and it ended up being a blast for all of us) and a drive around the Scenic Cape Meares Loop. We ended up at Cannon Beach for the night at a very cute inn. The pictures below capture Malia's first visit to the ocean. She wasn't very excited about the sand at first, in fact she wanted me to hold her and upon setting her down immediately clean her feet off but as you can see she quickly warmed up to the sand and was running around in no time.

Cherries and Beautiful scenery

This was the first time that all of us had seen a cherry tree and what a pity because the cherries were so juicy and sweet right off the tree.

Mist on the Columbia River Gorge

Vacation Highlights

A friend had warned me that I would love WA and OR so much that I would want to move there but she kindly reminded me to go back for a visit during the gloomy season for a reality check. It truly was beautiful and I caught myself asking a few times why do I live in AZ! Our trip began in Oregon with a visit to the Columbia River Gorge, exploring the country roads around the Columbia River Highway (where we found the u pick cherry orchard) a visit to the Portland Saturday Market, after which we got lost trying to find Powell's Book Store and ended up at the book store soaking wet. Much funnier now than it was at the time!

Bridal Veil Falls

Multnomah Falls

This picture was taken on the bridge in the above picture

Columbia River, the view from our first hotel