Clothing thief

Shyloh LOVES clothes.  If you show her a really cool toy or one of her shirts she will most likely pick the shirt.  We have actually been putting clothes in my bag for church along with her favorite toys to keep her occupied during sacrament.  She just loves clothes.  She is constantly finding various items whether its a lone mans sock, a pair of Nolans undies or one of my shirts she draping these various articles of clothing over her head and along her neck.  I have been trying to keep my garments out of reach, the last thing I need is her waltzing out whilst we have company and shes wearing my garment bottoms on her head like a turban.  She also enjoys wearing my flip flops on her arms like bracelets.   I think I may have a fashion diva on my hands! Thank heavens I have a few more years before she is a teen!

Shyloh is 1!!

My baby girl is one year old!!!! I can't believe a year ago today I gave birth to this little bean in our bathtub.   What a glorious year  this has been for us.  Shyloh is such a sweetheart and captures the heart of everyone she meets.  She smiles all the time and is more than willing to give hugs and kisses.   She now has four teeth and were expecting a fifth any time now.  For Shylohs birthday we had a little get together with a few of our closest friends.  Summer made a deliciuose whole wheat cake for our healthy little Shyloh.  We topped it with strawberrys and she gobbled it right up!,  As did everyone else.  As we sang happy birthday to Shyloh she just smiled so big and looked around at everyone.  How delighted she was with every body singing to her! She loved it.

   

Forever Family

 We did it! And what an amazing event it was! We are finally a forever family. It took us some time to get to this point in our lives but the wait was well worth it.   The SanDiego Temple was amazing as I knew it would be.  When they brought the kids in they were so adorable.  Nolan was in this super cute white jumper and Shyloh was in a beautiful white dress with a little white bow.  She started crying as soon as she saw me and when I was able to hold her she immediately grabbed my hair then all was well.  We had SO much family come.  Over 30 people I believe. What an amazing amount of love and joy we felt that day.  After we met at the beach club for some grub and playing on the beach.  It was an amazing day for our family Here are some pictures that were taken by the amazing Mrs. Shelley Dean...

Date night

Every now and then we are lucky enough to enjoy a date night.  I look forward to it all week (if I know about it far enough in advance) but usually Joe calls on a Friday morning and says.... Were going out tonight!!  Living with  parents makes this a tad easier though we try not to abuse this privilege.  Its so fun to get all dolled up every now and then.  Usually I'm covered in food and some sort of mucus so showering and blow drying my hair feels so good. 

Super Man/baby

One of my favorite things to do with my kiddos is the super man... You know where your laying on your back and you have your child placed precariously on your feet up in the air.  Shylohs arms are too short for me to hold so I usually thrust her up there hoping I can maintain balance so she doesn't topple over the edge.  We have had a few close calls though.  When I was a youngster I have vivid memories of getting the super man often.  Mostly from my Aunts, Jenny and Jona. Maybe this is why I love doing it for my kids.  It is getting a tad bit harder to do the super man for Nolan.   He squirms and giggles when your toes  come near his pits.  He is also getting heavier which makes my balancing act even more difficult. When he sees Shyloh on my feet in the air he must have a turn as well, so alas I shall keep trying

My big toes look like thumbs in this picture.... weird!

Cali trip 2011

We went to California for a week and a half back in June...(sorry my blogging is so far behind)  Last year we missed our annual Cali trip due to the fact that we were broke and Shyloh was due to arrive only weeks after the scheduled trip.  Although it worked out splendid because My sis Summer was able to go to the beach just before coming to be with me for the birth... that is another story though so let me get back to Cali this year.  We were SO excited.  I spent a whole week packing to make sure we had anything and everything we needed. The drive there was fine lasting only ten hours.  The first night Shyloh came down with a fever.  She was in bed with me and I kept a cold cloth on her to keep her temp down.  her head was burning up but her feet and legs were freezing so here she is in her sweats and boots with no top on.  Poor baby.  That was no fun but at least I could hear the ocean all night as I watched over her.

The next day she seemed out of sorts, not wanting any solids and extra fussy.  We took a trip down to the beach anyways...  Shyloh was fine until I let her down in the sand and she got some in her mouth.  Had we gone to the beach a few months later she would have done much better but she was at that hard in between age where she doesn't want to be held but she doens't understand how to play in the sand.  Plus it was very cool and windy on the beach.   It felt good for me but for little Shyloh with no body heat it was cold.

 

 Nolan had loads of fun on the beach!!!  He collected rocks, he threw rocks, he made rock sculptures and he kicked rocks.  He was in heaven.  One of this little mans favorite past times is doing various activities with rocks and our only rule was not throwing rocks at humans.  He wore a hand-me-down wet suit (with padding for floatation) that came from his uncle Robbie.  Thank goodness for that thing! It kept him nice and warm and away from the sun.  The water was super frigid so Daddy only took him in a few times but he loved standing on the shore then running away from the waves.

Since Shyloh doesn't have a favorite blanket when she was feeling sick my hair became her blanket.   The second I would hold her she would reach for my hair and twist it in her hands.  So funny.   On Wednesday we took a trip to L.A.  She was in the back seat between my mom and Nolan and I was in front between Rob and Joe.   On the way home Shyloh was just screaming so finally I leaned my head back on the seat and stuck my ponytail into her carseat.  It was the most uncomfortable ride of my life but the second she could feel and smell my hair she was fine.  After about 20 minutes she fell asleep and I was able to sit up again.

Dad and Mom Smith along with the kids were able to come as well.  They stayed in a rented condo down the street.  We really didn't get to hang with them much but it was so splendid having them there. It really made the week perfect. We went one night and enjoyed their hot tub then  had ice cream and fruit afterwards. Super fun Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them :(  My camera was pretty much hidden after the first few days.


After our week at the beach we went to the Welk to stay with Joes folks at thier time share.  They had an amazing pool with a slide.  It was really nice and super fun.  Shyloh and Nolan loved being in the water.  Unfortunately Shyloh is just so tiny that she became cold very quickly so I spent most of the time snuggling her under a towel. It was so fun seeing Joe play with all the kids in the pool.

Here are the kids playing Cricket

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Nolan getting a cricket lesson ;)

Love this Picture.. form L to R Christie, Me, Bekah and Shelley. This is Shyloh and Ashers first picture together. they share the same birthday!

Sleeping boy

Nolan curled up on the couch and fell asleep.  It was just so cute how he was laying, his bottom up in the air.  Shyloh didn't like him sleeping. She wanted him up and playing with her.  She finally was able to reach his head and swapped at it a few times waking him up... That's what sisters are for isn't it :)

Emerging from the snow ;)

 Summer is finally here.  This year we had a long dreary winter and a wet spring.   It felt like I hadn't seen the sun in years.  My pasty complexion was in dire need of some U.V rays! Our first good outing was a walk to the park.  Nolan spent some time throwing rocks into the steam then we played at the park and ate our sandwiches.  Shyloh doesn't mind the grass at all like other babies.  She crawls and lays in it, occasionally chewing on a piece of grass then spitting it out with a sour look on her face.  

It was long and tiring but so nice to soak up some sun and get some fresh air.   Now its August and it feels like Summer is just beginning.  Too soon we will be burried in snow again. (Although Nolan keeps asking when we can build a snow man)  Till then we will have many more park days :)