Starting a new blog

Since we're out of storage space on this one, we're going to start a new blog.  I decided maybe it's a good time to go private so I can at least feel like picutres of my kiddo are a little safer.
I don't know if anyone really reads this anymore, but if you do and would like to be invited to our new one, leave your email in the comments.

Grateful

I'm sitting here waiting for my pumpkin cheesecake to cool enough to go in the fridge.  I have zero desire to do the dishes so I decided it was a good time to blog.  I love Thanksgiving.  I love that it is a day dedicated to giving thanks and eating yummy food.  I also love that I get to start decorating for Christmas...which is my very favorite time of year.  I love the whole Christmas season and am SO excited for it this year with Molly.
For Halloween, we did a night tour of the zoo.  Kinda cool to be there at night, but most of the animals were sleeping and you couldn't really see much.  But, it was fun.  Molly was thrilled with the armadillos.  They were really active and burrowing and stuff and she couldn't get enough of watching them.
Ugh.  I just tried to upload some pictures, and apparently I'm out of space and have to pay for more storage or something.  I'll decide on that tomorrow.  Maybe I'll just do a new blog.  Or not. 

Whatever.   Nobody wants to read a blog without pictures so this will mostly just be for my record or maybe I'll repost later with pictures when I deal with my storage issue.  

The past month has been crazy.  The Saturday before Halloween (so, the 27th), Molly got a buckle fracture just below her left shoulder.  She was playing in the mirror and standing on the bathroom counter.  I was starting her bath water and next thing I know, she's falling off and landed on her shoulder/left side.  Worst mom moment ever!  She screamed for a while, but eventually stopped.  Nothing was swollen and we didn't think anything of it.  The next day, she was just irritable and moody and it wasn't until that night that we realized she was in serious pain every time we lifted her arm or did anything. and was such a trooper.  It was so sad to watch her gimp around and use her right arm, but just flop her left arm.  It's healing and she is using it a lot more.  Poor kid!

Jeff got carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists on November 1.  It went really well and the healing and recovery process haven't been as bad as either of us thought.  He tends to do too much, however, and then is sore, but he's feeling a lot better.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here is a very shortened list of things I'm grateful for:
-Our home.  I love it.  I love that it's ours and it's comfortable and cozy.
-Jeff.  He is one amazing guy.  He's kind, generous, hard working, quirky, and loving.  He is the best dad and Molly loves playing with him.  He makes me happy.
-Molly.  I can't imagine my life without her.  She's the best thing that has ever happened to us and I can't get enough of her.  I love her.
-A car to drive so I can get to work and other places very easily.
-Heat when it's cold.
-Air conditioning when it's hot.
-My parents.  They taught me right from wrong, how to work hard for what you want, respect, and love.  They taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ and helped me develop my own testimony.  They're amazing. 
-My siblings.  We have a great time together and I love that our kids love to play with each other.
-My in-laws.  I couldn't ask for a better family to have married into. 
-Clothes to wear, food to eat, a bed to sleep in.
-Modern medicine.  Miracles happen every day because of it and I'm so grateful for doctors who are trained in their fields and help those who need it.
-My nieces and nephews.  They're fantastic.  Every single one of them. 
-A job that I love. 
-Being a mommy.  Best. Calling. Ever.
-Being a wife.
-Eternal families.
-The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
-Temples.
-My primary kids.
-The love I feel from my friends and family and the amazing people that they all are.

I think my cheesecake might be cooled enough so I can go to bed.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Update

Our lives have been crazy.  Molly is growing and changing so much every day.  She loves life and I love watching her live it and enjoy every minute.  She's busy and into everything. 

Here she is enjoying some cool whip:

Hanging out in her stroller while it's folded up:

Eating Trix.  She makes this cheesey face whenever she sees the camera lately!

Helping daddy mow the lawn:

"Helping" with the laundry:

Taking care of her baby.  With a basket on her head.  Again.

She loves to vacuum:

This is a new pose she's been doing lately.  I have no idea where she learned it, but it's really cute.

This is what we call the "kissing game."  We hold Molly.  She puts her arms around each of our necks and pushes our heads together so we kiss.  Then she sticks her cute little cheeks in between so we kiss her.  This is repeated several times with lots of giggling.

She loves the puzzle game on our phones and is a pro at maneuvering around the apps.  Oh, technology.  She is so sweet with that little doll of hers.

The "cheeeeeeese" face:

Drinking a green smoothie.  She LOVES these things!

Jeff is being a trooper with school.  We don't see each other much during the week, but he's enjoying his clinical experience and learning a lot.  We are really excited for him to be finished next December!  Just one more year and then he'll have his RN and can start working in the field.  He'll continue to go on with his schooling, but I feel like the RN is a light at the end of the tunnel.  He works so hard and we are so thankful for him!

We both got new callings at church.  Jeff is the Young Men's president and I'm the Primary president.  It's busier than ever, but we are loving it.  Molly is learning so much in nursery and loves singing "Book of Mormon Stories."  Well, she does the actions over and over and over again while we sing it.

Our lives pretty much revolve around this little cutie.  I can't get enough of her.  She has picked up a tons of new words lately and knows exactly what she wants, when she wants it.  She definitely has her opinion on everything and is a little naughty pants, but we love her more than anything.  Here's to hoping it's not another 2 months before I update again... 

A Really Long Post About Molls with LOTS of Pictures

Dear blog,
Sorry you've been uber neglected and probably do not have any readers besides us.  I'll try to be better.  No guarantees, but I'll try.

Life is good.  Molly is growing up and Jeff always says, "It's like she's a real person!"  Yes, Jeffrey.  She is a real person.  Seriously though, she doesn't have the baby look anymore.  She's a full on toddler and a busy one at that.  The last few months have been busy busy busy, but fantastic all the same.

Who doesn't wear swim diapers on their head?  It's the cool thing to do.

Apparently we like putting things on our heads...

 

Molly is so much fun.  Here is a little look into what she's up to these days:

She gives kisses which generally consist of her wide open mouth trying to eat your face off.  She has recently started giving closed-mouth kisses, but then sticks her little tongue out when she gets to your face.  Occasionally we'll get a dry kiss with no tongue, no open mouth, and just sweet little baby lips.

She loves stacking and unstacking and organizing.

Hugs.  She recently started giving really good hugs.  There is nothing sweeter than having her run up to us and wrap those long skinny arms around our necks and just hug.  It melts my heart.

She loves blankets.  If there is a blanket around, she has to have it on top of her.  It doesn't matter that it's 90 degrees outside.  She needs 7 blankets on top of her.  It's the funniest thing.  Sometimes she wants pillows on her too.  She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and watches it a little too much unfortunately.  She'll bring us the remote and sit under her pile of blankets and giggle just knowing she gets to watch it.  When we turn it off, she brings the remote and says, "Uh-oh!"  We have a lot of uh-oh moments in our house.

This particular day was about 7ish blankets...

She brings blankets to us when she's ready to cuddle or take a nap.  So cute.

She's just funny and loves to help with things.  

Helping clean the bathtub

When she is hungry, she opens the bottom drawer in the fridge and takes out either a yogurt or string cheese.  She'll start biting into it before we even open it.  She also does this with things at the store.  For example, I was buying some baby carrots and she reached back, grabbed the bag of them, and just started chewing.  It's really fun.  Really.

Here are just some cute pictures.  I can't get enough of this kid.  She is my favorite little buddy.  I love hanging out with her!

Eating ice cream at Snowbird

New favorite spot.  She just sits on the pedal of the elliptical and hangs out.

Reminding us to pray

Thinking about stuff

Ummm...just being Molly

She is obssessed with toes and has gotten into sitting on our legs/feet

Our cute neighbors, Gayle and Dale, gave Molly these glasses with a candy necklace and bracelet.  Thrilled.  And so stylish.

Going swimming at Snowbird

Exploring at Snowbird.  She was fascinated with every single flower, rock, chipmunk, weed, tree, etc.  It was so fun experiencing the world through her eyes! 

This is what happens when she's left with Daddy.  Eva's pajamas hanging off the back of her.  Sweater and bandana to finish it off.  She was beyone thrilled about it.

Such a girly girl.  She loves bracelets, necklaces, etc.

I love this picture!  She won't leave anything in her hair anymore so she looks ragamuffiny more often than not, but I love her cute smile and chubby cheeks!  This was just before we went to Jeff's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary party.

Really great outfits.  One church shoe, one sneaker, and a onesie.  Outfit complete.

Love this.  She cuddled right up by Jeff's head.  He is right against the edge of the bed and Molly couldn't get close enough to him.

She loves looking at herself in the mirror and talks to herself all the time.  She's such a little ham.

Here's our little family at Snowbird during the hike.  It was hot.  And fun.

At her 18 month appointment she was 20 lbs. 15 oz. and 33 inches.  She grew 2 inches in 3 months!  She's in the 7% for weight and 84% for height Tall and skinny.  She is all limbs.

SO CLOSE to 21 lbs!  20 lbs. 15.8 oz.

Look at those loooong legs and arms!

Everything is a chair for her.  Small boxes, diaper bag, calf-stretcher thingy...you name it, she'll sit on it.  She climbs on EVERYTHING and has gotten into climbing up onto the table.  The thing is, we have a really tall table.  It's not the regular height dining table.  She pulls out the chairs, and just climbs right up.  If there are bags or something on the table, she'll squat behind them as if we can't see her.  She's kind of a naughty pants.  But a cute one.

She LOVES brushing her teeth and has to hold her toothpaste and pretends to keep putting it on the toothbrush.  She still absolutely LOVES books.

Her words are: no, uh-oh, baw (ball or balloon), bear, baby, mama, dada, toes, moo (moon), car, dog, dot (hot), baba (bye) and eye.  She has 13 teeth with one more canine coming in.  She just needs her right side canines and her mouth will be full!  Well, at least until the rest of the molars come in...

She loves being outside and hanging out with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Molls and cousin Eva in the bath at Snowbird.  They giggled with each other the whole time.  Best.  Bath.  Ever.

Jeff will probably die that I posted this little baby bum shot but I love the tall skinny Molly and chunky Eva next to her. 

Snowbird consisted of a lot of Sam and Molly time.  These two love each other so much.  They rode in strollers together a lot!

Can you tell Uncle Jeff helped Sam with the bandana?

This is one of my favorite pictures.  It's so sweet.

Just had to throw in this one of Eva.  Look at those blue eyes! 

Little buddies.

I love this picture with my mom.  They both look thrilled out of their pants.  So funny!

The cousins at Snowbird.  We went on a hike and this is at the lookout.  It's not easy getting a picture of 5 kiddos with 3 under the age of 2!

I love this one because Sam always has to try to gather the little ones.  He tries so hard to manage them.  It's a tough job though.

It got really quiet in the other room at Snowbird.  I went in to check on Molls and Sam and found them laughing and riding in my mom's chair together. 

Molly and Brooklynn.  Little buddies. 

Sharing their lunch

Williams side cousins.  In June, Joey and Amy came down for vacation and it was so fun getting all the kiddos together!  Again, not easy to get a picture of 5 kiddos with 3 under the age of 2. 

The summer went by so fast. It was so fun hanging out with family so much! Molly loved it. There were a lot of other happenings, but these are the highlights. I can't wait to be home with Molls one day! Being a working mom is tough. I love my job, but hate being away from Molly. One day...