{we love} this babe

it's been two months since my last blog update. sheesh. life has been busy.

 we had an amazing holiday season. we stayed in portland for thanksgiving this year. i went on a long run with two of my favorite girlfriends, John played football for seven hours (slight exaggeration but not too far off...)and then we just stayed in the rest of the day, wore sweats and ate way too much. it was perfect. then it was christmas...we drove to my parents house in nevada. sutton's "aunt" chandra rode with us which was a huge blessing. ten hours in a car is a long time for a little nugget so it was sure nice for her to always have a buddy in the backseat. we had THE BEST time back home. we stayed for eight days and it went by way too fast. it was so fun to see sutton and her cousin emmery  interact and try to figure each other out. sutton loved spending time with her grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, cousins and extended family. we spent a lot of time relaxing, eating and watching movies. john and i did manage to get a few runs in, despite the FRIGID temperatures. i love running at "home". the best part...it SNOWED christmas night. seriously, i can't remember ever having snow on christmas. apparently, it has happened before but that somehow managed to escape my memory. we also got to FaceTime with my baby brother markie on christmas day. he is coming home from his mission in SIX months!!! it was so good to see his goofy grin, hear his stories and realize that he is still his "special" self. maybe just a bit older, more mature and definitely (why can I never spell that right on my first try?) more spiritual. love him. 

let me move onto the most important little person in my life, sutton  blue. she has changed so much over the past few months, as all babies do. it's just so surreal when it is happening right in front of you. i was snuggling her this morning and holding her soft little hands and realized that they aren't really baby hands anymore. they just looked big. not like "man big" but more like toddler big. it makes my heart a little sad that she is losing some of her infant characteristics. however, i must say that the age she is right now is SO fun. oh the interactions we have! she has been army crawling for a few months and yesterday she just got real crawling down! she is fast. she has also started pulling herself up onto her knees to get into things. she says "ba-ba" all the time. i'm trying to brainwash her to say "mama" next but so far we haven't made much progress. she'll get it....i know :) she now has TWO baby vampire teeth! dang, those babies are sharp. 

sutton's current loves/obsessions:

1) dog food bowls. my poor dogs are probably starving because i now have to put their bowls away whenever she is awake. she could have 30 toys on the ground and want nothing to do with any of them if a dog bowl is in sight. she's so weird. and i love it. 

2) food. you better not sit down in front of her to eat something and dare not be prepared to share. she is pretty open to all things at this age. except things with meat in them. future vegetarian? today i fed her an organic meal/concoction of chicken, brown rice, ginger and coconut. i know, sounds gross. it resembled fancy feast cat food so that also detracted from it's appeal. she was a good girl and managed to get it down but she definitely wasn't as anxious to get more spoonfuls like she normally is. she prefers fruit to vegetables and loves to eat little pieces of cheese that she so gingerly feeds herself. 

3) target, the store. but really, who doesn't? we have a weekly ritual (sometimes I forget things on purpose so I have an excuse to go back sooner) of a target shopping trip. as soon as she sees me putting on the front pack she gets SO DANG EXCITED. she never complains that we were just there either. love having her on my team.

4)people. miss social. she loves to look around (wherever we are...church, the store, gym) and see who she can get to look at her. she is very outgoing and never gets upset when i leave her at the gym daycare or with the occasional babysitter. 

sutton had her nine month check up last week and is doing great. she has a little cold right now but we are pushing rest and lots of liquids (loves her sippy cup) so she can fight that crap off. 

nine month stats:

weight: 19 lbs. 12.5 oz (67% percentile)

height: 27.5 inches (47% percentile)

no shots this time around so that was sure nice :)

our last few months in photos...

a picture with BOTH their eyes open. a christmas miracle indeed!!!

passed out from too much excitement.  need i say more?

we were skyping with mark and dad thought we needed documentation of the event.  i'm just grateful to have documentation of teo's awesome hair.

see it? see the snow?!!

apparently sutton was terrified during this picture.  

pretty babe...

i love this part of the drive from oregon to nevada

ready, set, go!!!

this just makes my heart smile. look at that goofy grin. 

baby girl cousins. you have no clue the effort it took to get them to sit like this . once again, sutton appears to be terrified. 

snuggling with daddy at church

someone was ecstatic that santa came!

this is what she does when she thinks i've taken too many pictures.  so rude :)

sutton blue and emmery elisabeth

christmas booty :)

these babes love their grandpa!

oh girl...

this mama loves her baby...

no, this is not a joke. this is real. real life sledding ghetto style back home on the ranch. 

yes, that is a car hood. 

and they may or may not be sitting on tires. 

grandpa making sure the rope is "secure"..hmmm

emmery saying goodbye to her BFF blue :( 

happy new year!

first attempt at eating cheese on her own.

first swim lesson was a success. next week she learns the butterfly. 

so not napping.

nine months old!

i am so in love with this little girl. she is so happy and has the cutest little goofy personality which makes me uber happy. she sure is one lucky lady to be loved by so many!