Baby's FIRST Christmas!

This year was Brody's first Christmas- and it sure was fun! I loved seeing him with all of his presents! He loves them! My parents were able to be here with us, which was very nice! Next year they'll be living close by, and that will be wonderful! I can't wait to have them by us for good! Brody got a bazillion gifts- and Bobby and I only got him a few. Grandparents, Aunts, cousins, etc... were responsible for the rest- thank you everyone! I love Christmas time, and I'm sad it's over :( But, Christmas is even better with kids! I can't wait until next year when he'll understand what Christmas really means (of course, I'm sure even then he'll only know what presents mean.) We'll work on it!! Merry Christmas! Here are some pictures from Brody's first Christmas season. (BTW: We got him the lion walker and it is so darn cute to see him cruise around with it. I'll post a video of it.)

Brody and his friend, Milo. Santa and Rudolph at the ward Christmas Party.

Brody after Church, Christmas Sunday. What a STUD!



Before:



















After: (It was so funny! He was so tired- He really loves this toy)



























Bobby gave Brody an empty soda can and this was his first reaction- straight to the mouth.









Christmas morning- these are the gifts Santa left.




















Please excuse my morning attire in this pic. My mom got Brody a backpack with his name on it. She says its for him to pack him pajamas in to spend the night!

Crazy house! But, a fun Christmas!

2 1/2 years and 1 baby later...

It STILL fits! I know... you're probably wondering "why in the world is Erica in her wedding dress?!" but, I'll tell you why. My parents came up for Christmas and brought with them my mom's friend, Jen, from Dental School (Yes, my mom is going to be a DENTIST!! Way to go!) Jen is getting married - TOMORROW!! So, she rode with my parents from Vegas, to meet up with her fiance' who is at BYU, and they went back to Vegas the next morning. Anyway, so they arrived (by surprise) at 6:30 AM last Wednesday and I was unable to go to sleep again. My mom went to sleep, because they had driven all night, and Jen and I hung out and talked about her upcoming wedding! After all of the talking and reminiscing- I decided I wanted to pull out my wedding dress and show it to her. I told her that I always think about trying it on for fun, and she said- "do it!". So, I did! And it was a blast! She put on a few pieces of the dress as well. Thanks for the early morning entertainment, Jen!!

Merry Christmas...

Well, ALMOST! I can't believe Christmas is just about here! Wow! A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks-

1. We finally got our house lights up! YAY!

2. We went to Bobby's work party which was a blast. It was held at the Energy Solutions Arena (former Delta Center) and they had great food! (Not to mention those crazy dancers on the dance floor- that was pretty entertaining!)

3. Brody started to say mama! He usually says it when he's hungry and reaching for me- it is too darn cute! (He's said dada for a while, but I'm so glad he calls for me now!)

4. We went to a friend's Christmas Party and had a gingerbread house competition. Sadly, we didn't win :( We also lost the "pin the carrot on the snowman" game. What's up with that?! (I'm #13 and Bobby's #14- I'm on the wall!)

5. We had the chance of meeting up with my friend Emily from Boise. We went to The Mayan for dinner and had a great time. We've been friends since 5th grade and she has such a cute family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!! He's one today!

6. We cleaned out our 3rd bedroom to use as Brody's playroom. It's nice to have a room full of toys to put him in while I do laundry and clean. We don't have it completely decorated yet, but we are working on getting stuff in the next couple of weeks.

This picture is of Brody in his new "Lion Chair" for his room. We need soft furniture like that for him to stand against... He's one crazy boy! WE LOVE HIM!

Catching up-

I haven't posted for a while- my bad! I'm really not that busy during the day, but by the time my day is over I feel like I haven't stopped. The time flies by! So, here are some pictures to update what we've been up to, but real quick, I'll do a little insight into our busy days! Here goes:

Brody had his Roseola rash for a few days but it's gone now!! Poor baby. He was such a trooper! He was only bothered by the fever, so the last few days weren't too bad.

Thanksgiving day we went to a movie- we saw Enchanted! I LOVED IT! Seriously one of my new favorites! We then had dinner at Bobby's parents house and it was very nice! Brody loved his first Thanksgiving dinner! I put him in the high chair with a bib and he just ate with his hands- he loves to do that, and he'll eat more that way, than if I feed him with a spoon... so, he has been loving the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes this week!

We put up our Christmas Tree and spent an evening getting it together and decorated. After most of the ornaments were up, Bobby (and I) decided we didn't like the ornaments I bought last year. I got the jewel, bright, colors at Target on clearance and we hated them. (Thank goodness I didn't spend very much on them!) This is the first Christmas that we've been able to put up a tree. In the past, we've been in an apartment, on a cruise, and at Bobby's parents house. So, we are pretty excited to decorate our own home! We ended up taking down the bright ornaments and going to Tai Pan to buy some new ones! We LOVE our tree now!!! Merry Christmas!
Bobby's so proud of the new tree!!

We also put up our Christmas lights on our house, but once again, didn't love them- so we took those down too and we will be putting up new ones shortly. I'll be sure to post a pic!

One more big piece of news- Brody had his two bottom teeth pop thru yesterday!!! YEAH! He's 8 months now, and I'm sure there are two coming thru. Congratulations Baby!!

My dad and his family stopped by on their way home from Idaho for Thanksgiving. It was great to see them!!

At lunch with some friends- Brody had CRAZY hair after I took off his beanie!

Our cute boy getting ready to watch dad put up the Christmas lights- he ended up taking down!

Sick Baby :(

Well, Brody was sick this last weekend- and I mean the weekend. He was a little fussy on Friday, but he took a nap and was fine when he woke up, so I didn't think much of it. Saturday morning he woke up and was a little fussy, but the same thing- he took a nap, and woke up fine- it was a 3 hour nap which should have given me a slight clue! So, we went to my sister's house to watch the BYU game and he started to get fussy. We left to run some errands, but throughout the day he was not very happy- he seemed to just be getting worse, and he started to feel warm. I checked his temperature when we got home and he was 100.5*. I gave him some Tylenol to help him feel better and he slept ok that night- he woke up pretty hot so I checked his temp that morning. He was 101.5*. I gave him some more Tylenol and we stayed home from church. The Tylenol kept helping him feel better, and it would help with the fever, but every time his fever came back it was higher. By Sunday night his temperature was 102.5*. He slept with us that night and I took him into the Dr. Monday morning. I thought it might be his ears because he had a little fluid a few weeks before. But, his ears, throat, everything was fine. The Dr. said it was probably a common virus in babies 6 months to 3 years old called Roseola. She said the fever would last about 3-5 days and then he would get a rash once the fever broke. Well, Monday was the 3rd day with his fever and last night he began to get a little rash. This morning it's a little worse. But, at least it doesn't bother him and he's over the worst part. Poor little guy. It's so sad to see your baby sick. Bobby was so sweet to him! I love to see Bobby with Brody- he's the best daddy! On Monday night, when Brody's fever started to break, he was wanting to play a little more (He was totally lethargic and sleeping all day for the whole weekend) so, Bobby was trying to go to sleep, but Brody wanted to play! Bobby played with him (even though he was exhausted) because he was so happy to see Brody feeling better! I love my two boys! They're the best! Here's a picture of Brody's rash- Roseola. (A little hard to see in the pictures- it's just slight red blotchy spots all over his belly.)



(Note: I did read that this is such a common illness in babies/children that most of them will have it by the time they enter Kindergarten. And, once they get it, they are less likely to get it again!!! YEAH!)

Silly Elfs!

I saw this on my friend Brooke's blog! It was so funny- I had to try it out. After all, I don't have much else to do- my house is clean and If I leave my house I'll spend money, If I spend money Bobby won't be happy, and If Bobby isn't happy- well then, we probably won't get to decorate the tree tonight!!! :) Enjoy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9558978764

ABC Tag- This is me!

A- Attached or Single? Attached and loving it!
B- Best Friend? Bobby, Brody, and my Mom
C- Cake or Pie? Cheesecake (Would that be considered "cake" or "pie"?)
D- Day of Choice? Friday- once Bobby is home from work! I love having him home on the weekends!
E- Essential Item? Lipgloss and Hand Sanitizer
F- Favorite Color? PINK!
G- Gummi Bears or Gummi Worms? Worms- they just taste better..
H- Hometown? Las Vegas, NV (and Boise, ID)
I- Favorite Indulgence? Pedicures/Facials and Cold Stone Ice Cream- just had some last night!
J- January or July? Oooh- tough one! Today I like January- because I want some snow- in January I will want July! (It always ends up that way)
K- Kids? Brody!!! The best baby in the world!
L- Life is incomplete without? Bobby, Brody, The Temple, and The Office :) favorite show ever!
M- Marriage Date? May 14, 2005- Best day of our lives!
N- Number of Brothers & Sisters? 1 brother Evan, 1/2 brother Brent and step bro's and sis's...
O- Oranges or Apples? Caramel Apples- just plain, my favorite would be Clementine oranges.
P- Phobias or Fears? Getting stuck in the middle of the ocean - I've seen too many of those stranded shows.. and not being able to breath. I hate it when someone plugs my nose- I can hardly plug it myself.
Q- Quote? Life gets better as you get older, unless you're a banana! Silly quote- but totally true!
R- Reason to smile? Bobby and Brody- need I say more?!
S- Season of Choice? I love ALL of the seasons right as they begin to change- I love change in weather so the beginning of every season is my favorite- Well, Summer is probably my all around favorite.. as long as I'm by the pool.
T- Tag Three Friends (If you read this and your name is here, then you have to do it.) Brooke, Emily, Jamie
U- Unknown Fact About Me? I love giving birth- I think it's the most fun, exciting thing ever! (ok, maybe not EVER, but it's at the top of the list!)
V- Vegetable? Squash and Zucchinni- Are those considered Veggies?! Bobby is so sick of them- poor guy, I make them for dinner ALL the time. Last night he asked for corn- He loves corn! He'll have some tonight! :)
W- Worst Habit? Bobby will love this answer.. my worst habbit is copying people on TV. If someone makes a face, I make the same face...over and over again. If they flip their hair- I do the same thing. (Sometimes I don't know I'm doing it until Bobby looks at me and makes fun) I don't know when this weird obsession started?!
X- X-Ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound!! They're fun!
Y- Your Favorite Food? Anything I'm in the mood for- but I absolutely love Roast and Mashed Potatoes- I can never get enough of that Sunday dinner!
Z- Zodiac Sign? Virgo