it snowed. and she hated it.

it snowed. a lot. might not sound like a big deal but trust me, it was for portland. it started coming down on thursday and basically didn't stop until sunday. then some icy rain came which made the roads real fun to drive on. most roads here don't get plowed which makes for interesting driving conditions.  and...we live in a pretty hilly neighborhood so that makes it more of a challenge to get out. there were so many abandoned cars. everywhere. i had a few die-hard clients on friday and saturday and i am sure glad my ohio boy drove me to and from work. he hasn't lived in ohio for a long time but he still has mad skills. john was so excited that it snowed and he kept trying get someone to go outside and play in it with him. i like to look at it. from inside. little blue takes after me. at one point he got desperate and even tried to get the dogs to have a snowball fight with him. (that lasted about five minutes) on sunday, once the blizzard-like conditions had subsided we got bundled up and went for a "walk." which really meant try to get some fresh air while taking very graceful, dainty steps so you don't fall on the solid sheet of ice that had formed over the snow. we found a safe spot to set blue down so we could take some pictures and she was instantly terrified. she didn't want her feet to touch it, she didn't want her hands to touch it...she was having none of it. she's lucky we live in the pacific nw and she won't have to worry about snow like this for probably another 5 years!

sutton finally has her kitchen up and running. i'm slightly embarrassed to admit it was a christmas present..someone procrastinated building it (ahem, john) it was worth the wait-she loves it!  

grammie sent sutton the best valentines day package. here is some of her loot. 

crap. she's not a baby anymore.

i feel like life has been so busy since we got home from our christmas vacation. i hear that january is over and it is now february. stop it. what?!  i decided that is mighty fine with me because january has never been at the top of my list of  favorite months. i'm probably going to get punched for saying this, but....it has been so sunny and nice out and i'm desperately craving some gloomy/semi-rainy days. and by semi-rainy i mean i want it to rain after i'm home from getting in a dry run. doesn't it work like that? ha. i had surgery about two weeks ago and was stuck inside for the first week after. that was hard for me. i'm not good at just sitting and doing nothing. i actually really suck at it and i blame it on genetics. if you knew my mom, you would understand. actually, my mom and my dad are that way so i was screwed from the get-go. however, i must say that having friends bring dinner and treats over does not suck. it's hard not having family close but i can honestly say i have such good friends that have become my family. anyway, i'm glad that is over with and that i can get back to being active,  running and getting ready for some exciting stuff that we're going to be doing this year.

and for sutton blue, the little girl that is growing too fast.  everyday i tell her to slow down and stop growing up so fast but she doesn't listen to me. speaking of not listening, she is usually very good at listening to me and doing what i ask her. (unless it's iphone related) yesterday she took my phone off of the charger because it's one of her favorite things to do and well, because she can. i can't turn my back on her for a second without her trying to steal my phone (or the remotes). then she went and stood in her "corner" (the spot between my nightstand and the wall) because she thinks i can't  see her there.  she just kicked back and fired up pandora because she needed something to listen  to while she did some serious scrolling through my pictures, mainly to watch videos of herself over and over again. can you say narcissist? when i swiped it away from her you would have thought the world was coming to an end. i don't want her to have my phone all the time. iPhone privileges are reserved for emergencies only. (like grocery shopping or a doctor appointment) lately when i really need her attention and want her to look at me when i have something to tell her, all i have to do is get down to her eye level and ask her to look at me. and she does. except for yesterday...she looked at me for a split second and then stared over my shoulder without blinking or moving...an inch. she was being so defiant and was not about to give in. oh the stubbornness!!! i even called john in because he HAD to witness what was going down. he lasted 29 seconds before he went into the closet and probably peed his pants from laughing so hard. i wanted to laugh, too! but i had to be the stern one and not show signs of weakness. i had to make her earn my respect. ha. i'm only being semi-serious, this is not gang initiation. i wish i would have taken a picture of her face. she was killing me! it took every ounce of self control to not lose it and start laughing hysterically. 

one of her newest obsessions is picking up the "poo" when take the dogs for a walk. i love that she loves to "pick up" the poop. (and no, i don't let her really pick it up. not yet, anyways...)and she always has to put the bag on her hand all by herself. see.

she loves "checking" the mail. over and over again. once about fifteen minutes of this obsessive/compulsive behavior has passed, i have to (gently) drag her cute butt home.

 and then this happens... 

we take a pit stop outside the front door to watch for planes/people/dogs. in that order. 

and then she tries to trick me into letting her stay outside even longer.... 

someday, blue will look back and wonder what she did all day long when she was a toddler 

(good thing she has an awesome mom who blogs about once every 6 months) so it's my goal to take about 654 pictures of her per week. i'm not joking. here are some of her favorite things to do as a 21 month old lady.

she watches RHOA (don't judge) and no, she isn't usually allowed to watch tv 4" away from the screen. it was just an intense scene so i made an exception.

she makes blankets/stuffed animals into a body pillow while she sleeps. every day, every night.

she rummages through the fridge, steals random items and hides them in her shopping cart. don't let those pigtails fool you. she is a villain.

she goes to the park with her cool parents. her daddy is just a little kid trapped the body of a balding man which makes him extra fun to hang with. i'm just the unpaid photographer.

 she loves looking out the window. at anything. anytime. 

she loves to cut the fruit aunt connie sent her for christmas 

she loves to try and leave sacrament meeting early so she can get to the nursery first

she loves to give random things "showers"

and....unwrap all of mama's tampons 

she loves to not listen when i tell her it's time to go inside

she loved going to watch frozen in the theatre. she got to sit in a big girl chair with big girl popcorn and big girl soda. she was mesmerized and sat still the entire time. 

sutton blue is becoming more independent every day.  she can now walk up the stairs like a real human. it scares the crap out of me but i know i have to let her learn for herself. plus, i don't want her to be an adult who climbs up the stairs like a monkey because her mama held her back when she was little. that would be weird. when she was an itty bitty she would give affection to her dogs and inanimate objects freely. to us, her loving parents who feed, shelter and nurture her...nothing. nada. zip. zero. i'm very happy to share that things have changed. she is a little lover face who gives the best kisses and hugs. we always do a "family hug" before bed and she smooches us and tells us "secrets" before we lay her down. it's the cutest thing. eva. 

immensely enjoying every second we spend together as a family and cherish my alone time with blue. don't worry, i share.... john still takes fridays off so he can watch her while i work at the salon. i'm so thankful that he can do that because they have such a sweet bond that melts my heart. i love my family. 

i've been waiting...

i've been waiting for this time of year...since last january. i love the christmas season. we took sutton to see santa at the downtown macy's a few weeks ago and she loved the winter wonderland with all the decorations but didn't love the idea of sitting on santa's lap. she straight up stared santa down and shook her head no when we asked if she wanted to sit on his lap. but seriously, i would not have wanted to sit on his lap either. but, of course we made her. we're jerks like that and i really had to get a picture of her on his lap. she'll thank me for this memory when she is older. right???

we drove to nevada last saturday to spend the holidays with my family. we have been having the best time laying around and eating.  (i must add that john and i have gone running almost every day so i don't feel like a complete sloth) i've gotten dressed in real clothes once and am currently wearing the same sweats and sweatshirt i wore yesterday (don't worry, i do shower when i am here) so as always, when we come to nevada i wonder why i even bother packing real clothes. sutton blue loves being at grammie and grandpa's house just as much as i do.  she loves running around with all her cousins, playing hide-n-seek (grammie has lots of space and good hiding spots), riding her bike around outside and getting showered with attention. she knows where the special treat cupboard is and likes to help herself on a frequent basis. at least she still needs an adult to open packages so we have some control over what she puts in her lil' belly. she is getting some molars and is really into eating ice. all. day. long. the ice must feel good on her sore gums. she is so loved by all the family and it's amazing to see how everyone is just drawn to her. she's like the popular kid in school when we are at grammie's :) it's so fun to see how sutton and emmery interact with each other, especially now since they are older and more aware of other littles. emmery   is definitely more snuggly, sensitive and calm than sutton. sutton is busier and more independent. but with her teething lately and being constantly tired from all of the partying she has been more cuddly which makes for a happy mama. grammie bought her a dreamlight pillow pet for christmas and we just snuggled on my bed watching the colors light up the ceiling before i tucked her in. i taught her how to give eskimo and butterfly kisses and she loves giving them to me before bed. we also tell "secrets"-this is by far my favorite thing that she does. she just whispers little jibberish into my ear and then asks me to whisper into hers. melt my heart.
this was also the first christmas that uncle mark has been home from his mission. woo hoo! he was definitely missed the past two years during christmas. he loves his nieces and even bought them matching camo outfits for christmas. very thoughtful and sweet. i'm sure there will be a picture posted at some point. we plan on taking the ranger out for some more rides while we are here so the camo outfits will come in handy.

here are some of the picutres i've taken this past month.

this was it. the santa stare down.

sutton loved the winter wonderland

fail

oh the tippy toes...

sutton pushed the button over and over because she did not want that train to stop!

sutton with cousin kloe at church in lovelock

grammie bought them matching shopping carts. i don't think she likes having two granddaughters the same age or anything. wink wink.

mateo wrapped this gift for me all himself. he was so excited to watch me open it. the look on his face was priceless. i may have cried a little. such a sweet boy. 

john bought us matching jammies for Christmas! he picked them out all on his own and i had no clue. awesome surprise. we're probably going to expect this from him every year from now on.

markie and sutton blue playing lego's 

only a little spoiled :)

sibling love

happy girl on christmas

out of 300 pictures taken, this was the best. my deepest apologies. 

and....more presents

aunt chan came over and we went for a ranger ride to see some cows. this was sutton's face the entire time. pretty sure she didn't know what in the heck to think. 

girl chat

stealing daddy's glasses

 had to take a picture of how pretty the pogo nip on the trees was this morning. or the "coco nip" as john likes to call it.

18 month check up

blue!

today (i started this post on 11/13 but we've been having so much fun that i haven't had time to finish it until today-oops) we went to see dr moshofsky for your 18 month old check up. you decided to celebrate by waking up at 5:00 am! you NEVER do this and i hope you realized that it wasn't as fun as you thought it was going to be and then NEVER do it again. ever.  needless to say, you weren't very happy to see dr moshofsky's nurse. you screamed like the dickens when i had to take your clothes off to get you on the scale (i don't blame you-i do the same thing when i have to be weighed but just wait, when you're bigger you have to get weighed with ALL your clothes on. torture!) and then you screamed even more when i laid you down on the table so she could get your height and head circumference. you had big crocodile tears just streaming down your face. i felt so sad for you but then you stopped crying as soon as she left the room so i knew you were just being dramatic. you sure didn't cry when dr moshofsky came into the room. you are quite fond of him and i can't say i blame you-he's kind of a silver fox. you like the funny duck noises he makes and he even offered to let you hold the stethoscope but you declined. he says you are exceeding all your developmental marks and he also said that we should stop giving you a bottle because it can be bad for your teeth. that makes me sad because it means you are growing up and although i'm so excited for the age you are, i still want you to stay part baby. like a baddler. baby/toddler combo. could you do that for me, please? the good news is that he said the binky won't hurt your teeth until you are two so i'm hoping you enjoy the next 5 months. although, we are down to about 3 binky's and i'm pretty sure at one point we had over 400 so maybe this is a sign that you need to stop having one sooner? i'd just like to know where in the heck they all went.

today you weighed 24.14 lbs
you are 32"tall
your height is in the 47% and your weight is in the 74%

looks like you are going to keep growing.

you are such a FUN baby and i love love love that we get to spend so much time together. you are the best sidekick i could could ever ask for. you are starting to talk more and more everyday. some words that you say often are doggie, mama, daddy, plane, more, please, wow, yeah, soda, gum, water and ball. you don't really eat very much and you have become somewhat of a picky eater. but, some of the things you really, really like are cheese, pickles, olives, pizza, cucumbers, avocado, apples, mac n cheese, graham crackers and fruit snacks. we brush your teeth every night even though you don't like it. well, except the eating toothpaste part. gross. you're still a very good sleeper and you love to read books before bed. you would make us read 49 books to you every night if we would. you still wake up happy and chatty in the mornings and now that your hair is getting a little longer, your bed head is becoming more amazing. you love to spend time with other little people. going to the kids club at the gym and the nursery at church are some of your favorite times. a lot of times you mimic me when you play. driving your car (you always have to grab the keys and put some sort of a bag on your shoulder before you hop in), loving on your baby dolls, and taking your wipes and cleaning anything you can (you even got a wipe out of my purse when we were in the airport last week and proceeded to clean the table and chairs in the kids area). you loooove music and shake your booty and bob your hand like a rap star when you hear music that you like. your favorite songs are roar by katy perry, hold on, we're going home by drake and won't stop by sevyn streeter and chris brown. whenever a song comes on the radio that you don't like you make sure to tell us by shaking your head no until we change it to a song you like. seriously? so opinionated. playing hide-n-seek is your new favorite game to play. you love to come find me and giggle hysterically when you're startled. you always go and "hide" in the same spot that i was in when it's your turn. seeing you "hiding", trying not to giggle and happier than a clam might just be the cutest thing i've seen in the history of cutest things. we went to target for family date night and bought you a potty because you have been showing signs that you're ready to potty train. yay! you like to sit for a while (nothing exciting has come out yet), grab toilet paper and "wipe" your bum and then hop off and flush. and then you flush again. and if i didn't herd you out of the bathroom you would probably stay in there and flush the day away. flushing thrills you to no end. after peeing on your bedroom floor (daddy's rookie error) and pooping hard nuggets (thanks for not having diarrhea)in your bubble bath (thanks for clogging the drain, btw), i'm really stoked to get this potty training party started. not to mention, think of all the money we will save when diapers are no longer on our shopping list?! we'll spend it on ice cream, unicorns and gap. deal?

i've never felt my heart melt before becoming your mama and somehow, you've managed to melt it everyday since. bluebird, i love you! 

halloween, salt lake and a wedding!

blue celebrated this halloween by taking a flight to salt lake city in her fancy halloween outfit (thanks again aunt brooksie), eating some cafe rio (heaven), partying with her favorite "aunties", dressing up as the cutest cabbage patch doll ever and passing out candy (let's be honest...hoarding the candy) with brooks.  

having a little snack before our flight. too bad she puked it up later- all over her pretty halloween outfit and her mama too :)

our welcoming committee

this is the cutes thing i have ever seen. like in the history of ever. can you believe one of my awesome clients made this wig for blue? 

sutton blue was reluctant to give these girls any candy but eventually she gave two of the four girls a piece. when the other two girls put their pillowcases out she the candy close with a death grip and then shooed them away. it was HILARIOUS. 

she was determined to get as many pieces as she could in her arms all at once

my favorite kid dressed up as my favorite childhood toy

the whole reason we went to utah was for kisty's wedding! kisty is one of my very favorite people in the whole world and we were so happy to be part of her special day. it was such a fun wedding and she looked gorgeous!

hudson and blue

he's a little accident prone but i'd be ok if they got married one day

brooksie doing her thang

kisty and dan are married! and how cute is it that her grandma married them? 

i met all these girls my first year of college at dixie. how lucky am i that we all keep in touch and when we get together it feels like we are 18 again?

me, kette, heatha b and carisa

i wish heather lived closer to me

so, as usual we had a great time in utah and basically spent the whole weekend eating, laughing, talking, shopping and eating some more. here are a few more fun pictures from our trip. 

blue wasn't impressed with the snow

took blue to the disney store and what did she pick out for her souvenir? not a doll, toy, purse, tiara or stuffed animal. she chose a fork, spoon and a cup. i have no explanation for her odd obsessions. 

this sums up our trip perfectly

i love taking sutton blue places. she is the best little sidekick i could ask for. besides puking on the plane on the way to salt lake (eating candy+nasal congestion+a SUPER sensitive gag reflex=bad bad combo) we didn't have any other snaffu's. she is super chill, and loved all the attention from her "aunties". i am so in love with this little girl!