Our own little Christmas

We had our own Christmas last night. We don't have space in our luggage to bring all our gifts there and bring more back. Kaylee really loves opening presents. She got this aqua-doodle to entertain her on the airplane. We leave on Friday! I'm so excited!

Here is Kaylee opening my present from Jake- a new CD/MP3 player since our old one broke. I got Jake a shirt and a tie (the usual dad gifts right?) and a fireproof safe (I know really exciting).

Brooke was really excited about her new slippers to keep her little toes warm.

Kaylee is such a good big sister, helping Brooke to open her present.

Kaylee's favorite gift of the night...the packing peanuts from the package we got from Jake's aunt. She played with those for hours. Maybe that's all we'll get her next year.

We had our ward Christmas party on Friday. Santa was there but Kaylee was not about to sit on his lap. I had to hold her and sit on his lap. Jake and Brooke joined in for a picture but we didn't get it yet. We were supposed to get it at church on Sunday but then more than half the ward didn't show up because we got 3-4 inches of snow Saturday night. We only had Sacrament meeting and there were only about 40 people there. It's funny to us, coming from Utah and Idaho that so little snow causes such big problems here. It also put off my new calling for one more week. I was just called as the secretary in the Relief Society presidency. It should be fun and keep me pretty busy. Brooke has decided she isn't a big fan of bottles lately so that is something we are going to have to work on since I'll be gone a bit more. I guess we'll have to try different bottles and nipples...any ideas?

Anyone?

Wicked Tickets are on sale now for the Portland show. Anyone want to go with me? Jake can watch the girls... or does someone want to come see it too and watch the girls while Jake and I go and then see it after us...?

We had Thanksgiving at our house again this year with a few friends from the ward. I didn't have to do the turkey but I did the mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and a fruit slush. Our friends who came over own a Great Harvest so they brought rolls and pies. I went with paper plates this year. I don't have any nice china which is what we always used growing up. We played Disney Scene it- husbands VS wives and we killed them! It was a fun day, but it's never quite the same when you aren't with family.

Thanksgiving was Brooke's official 2 month birthday. I can't believe it's already been 2 months, but at the same time it seems like she's always been a part of our family. She had her 2 month checkup today. She is 10 lbs 5 oz (30%) 22 inches (40%). She also got shots today and has not been happy. She cries anytime her legs move. Poor thing.

Kaylee and Brooke enjoying a little tummy time together. Kaylee likes it more than Brooke does.

Brooke all dressed up for church Sunday. Little did I know she had a blow out diaper for me while I was taking the picture.

This is my little sister holding Kaylee. She is a month older than Brooke in this one, but look at the hair difference.

Here is a better example. This is Kaylee at 2 months. Brooke is pretty bald compared to Kaylee!!

Here's what's going on....

We don't have too much going on here lately. The girls and I are usually at home most of the day (it's not fun to drag them out in the rain.) We keep entertained though, and have an occasional trip to the store. Jake started his new job at Boeing a few weeks ago. He is now a project manager and hopefully will like it better than his last job. Something new is always good. We actually went on a date last weekend!! It has been so long since we did that! We went and saw the movie Fireproof. It was a good clean movie about a couple trying to save their marriage. If you want a good date movie I recommend it! I also went and saw Twilight this weekend with friends from my ward. I liked it and would watch it again (not in the theater though.) I really like the books and they followed it pretty good but of course there were differences that I couldn't help but noticing. I also have been working out now that I am past those first 6 postpartum weeks. I got a workout video my that my friend recommended Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred. It is a really good workout. I even got Jake doing it with me! Brooke has been sleeping 6-61/2 hours at night for the past few weeks!!! It is so nice! She is getting so big (but she's still on the small side compared to other babies I think.) She will be 2 months old officially on Thanksgiving! Kaylee wants to wear dresses and tights everyday. We went to the Goodwill last week to get her some more dresses so she doesn't ruin her church dresses. She is always excited to go to the store and "look at toys." She's going to love Christmas this year. We are having Thanksgiving dinner with some friends from the ward at our house again this year. Hopefully all the food turns out as good this year. It's a little scary when you don't have mom and grandma to make all the food!

Smiles

Our blog is now private. It was such a pain to make private. I'm sorry you now have to log in to read, but better safe than sorry.

Brooke started smiling a couple of weeks ago. I kind of caught one. I love it when she smiles! It is so cute. She has also started cooing a little bit. It is so nice to hear something besides crying.Here are my girls just hanging out in their p.j.'s Kaylee is a good big sister. She always wants to hold her and is over the hitting sister phase. It is so fun to see them interact. Brooke smiles for Kaylee all the time.

Going Private

I know I said back in May I was going to make our blog private and never did... I just hate the extra step of logging in to look at blogs, but after seeing the news clip on Megan's blog... http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4699330 I decided it is time for us to go private too. Please leave your e-mail address. I'll go private next week (this time I'll really do it).

Just to Clarify...

I probably shouldn't have mentioned anything about grad school and Texas Tech. We aren't even sure we are going there. Jake still has to take the GMAT and apply. He just likes the program they have there and it would be our first choice. We could end up anywhere though. I only mentioned it before because I was a little distressed about missing Wicked when it comes to Seattle, but who knows we could still be here...

The Rainy Season is Here

Unfortunately we now have to endure rain and cloudy skies for the next 7 months or so. I don't like the winters here much, they are depressing! There is a flood warning for our county right now. So far so good. I worry about it a bit more now that we aren't on the 3rd floor.

We have just been hanging out at home since I don't want to drag the girls out in the rain. Right now it's hard to take them out with or without rain. There aren't many carts at stores that accommodate 2.

Look at this hair! Every morning it is so tangled. I don't know what she does at night but de-tangling spray has been our best friend. It still doesn't help too much. We have a lot of tears combing it out. The joys of being a girl! I just found out Wicked is coming to Seattle in Sept. 2009. I have wanted to see it for years. Too bad we are most likely going to be in Lubbock, Texas then for grad school at Texas Tech for Jake. I was really disappointed we won't be here for it, but then I saw it is in Portland in March and Portland is only 3 hours away!! Anyone want to watch our kids for a weekend...?

Cute Girls

While we were in Utah my cousin took some pictures of Brooke and Kaylee. She has a photograpgy business http://www.erinlangford.com/ check it out!

Thank you so much Erin. They turned out great!

Halloween Carnival

Our ward had it's annual Halloween carnival/trunk or treat on Saturday. Our little witch with her broom.Here are a few of her friends. Kaylee was really tired and didn't want to play any of the games.

She did however enjoy the treats!

I just had to add this picture too. Kaylee is so proud to be holding her sister. Brooke didn't like it so much though. Kaylee likes her sister for the most part but yesterday she got a little violent and hit her a few times! Luckily Kaylee is so small it didn't hurt her at all. I hope she doesn't make a habit of it though.

What a weekend!!

We went to Utah this last weekend for Matt (Jake's brother) and Julia's wedding! They were married in the Logan temple. I forgot my recommend but we were able to work things out so I could go to the ceremony. They are a cute couple. It was so fun to see all our family. It was perfect weather for the wedding! I loved being there in the sunshine and away from the clouds and rain of Seattle. The wedding reception was at Thanksgiving point (which is about 1 1/2 hours from Logan). Brooke and Kaylee had some really cute matching dresses for the reception.. My mom made the dress Kaylee is wearing and the one Brooke is wearing was from my brother's wedding 2 years ago. Kaylee was 2 1/2 weeks old then.

We spent the night at my grandma's house after the reception since it was a lot closer to Thanksgiving point than Logan. On Saturday we had and birthday party for my grandma/Halloween party. I hadn't been to a family party for a very long time. It was fun to see cousins and my aunts and uncles. Kaylee had a blast playing with all my cousins. They followed her around everywhere she went.

Here are 2 little witches. My little sister Kelli and Kaylee. Aren't they cute?

Here are the younger cousins all dressed up for the Halloween party. Even little Brooke had a witch hat on, although my mom said it looked more like a Pilgrim hat.

On Sunday we blessed Brooke at Jake's parent's house. We had permission from our Bishop to do it there since all our family was there. We just had our families and a few friends there. It was nice and then we had some lunch. We are so blessed to have such good supportive families.

We are also so blessed to have this sweet little girl as part of our family. It was such a busy weekend with lots of driving from Logan to Orem to Clearfield, back to Logan, back to Clearfield. We had so much fun though! I miss Utah and being by all our family. Someday we'll live close again. Thanks family for such a great trip!

All by myself...

Jake has been working from home the past 2 weeks and my mom was here the first week. This is the first week I have the girls all by myself. So far it's been ok. Kaylee has thrown a few tantrums and dropped a couple books on Brooke that she wanted me to read while I was holding Brooke. It has been manageable with Kaylee's 2 hour naps and the fact that Brooke still sleeps pretty much all the time. Thank goodness for baby swings too! They are life savers. The house is a huge mess though. Kaylee takes advantage of me feeding Brooke and dumps out all her toys and gets out all her books and anything else she can get out. It's only been 2 days but the mess is driving me crazy! I only have one more day to worry about it this week though, then it's off to Utah for Jake's brother's wedding!!

Happy Birthday Kaylee!

Oct. 2 was Kaylee's 2nd birthday! She had a great time opening her presents. She got some books, cars, a jacket, and some golf clubs (Jake was pretty excited about that.)

Kaylee refused to blow out her candles. She was more excited about the ice-cream than the cake.

Grandma decorated the cake for Kaylee. Thanks grandma!

Jake and I took her to the Children's museum to play and left Brooke with Grandma.

This is the jacket grandma gave Kaylee. She refused to try it on while grandma was here. This picture is for you grandma. She didn't want to take it off.

More Pictures

Here is our latest family picture.

My mom and I had a little photo shoot of Brooke today. Here are a few of the pictures.

I love her little slippers!

Cute sisters! Kaylee is actually doing very well with Brooke. Of course dad and grandma are here right now, so we'll see how it goes when it's just me and the girls. Kaylee got upset the first few times I fed Brooke but since then has been fine with it. She likes to pet sister's head and point out her eyes and nose. She has offered to share some toys with Brooke but is not about to share her blankets. Grandma had to buy Brooke her own new blanket so Kaylee wouldn't steal it.

It has been great having my mom here. Kaylee loves to play with her and she has cooked up a bunch of meals for us. She is also sewing Kaylee a dress for Jake's brother's reception in a few weeks. Thanks mom, you are the greatest!

Brooke Ellie Williams

Brooke was born Sept. 27 at 4:06 am. She was 6 lbs 11 oz and 18 in long. The hospital finally called me back Friday night and said I could come in at 7:30 pm to be induced so we went for it. I was 3 cm and 90% when I first got there. They started pitocin at about 8:30 or so and around 1:30 I was 5 cm and was ready for an epidural. The anesthesiologist was in surgery and couldn't come right away so by the time I requested to the time I finally got the epidural done about 2:30 the nurse checked again and I was fully dilated! That was not a very fun hour! The nurse let me take a little nap before informing the dr since I just barley got the epidural. The dr came in at 3:30 and broke my water and I started pushing. 30 minutes later Brooke was born!

It was so nice to have a healthy baby! I was glad she didn't end up in the NICU like Kaylee did. My mom was a great help watching Kaylee for us! Kaylee wasn't too interested in Brooke. I think she was a little confused. She kept saying baby Hailee (our friends baby who was born a month ago).

Proud daddy with his 2 girls! Brooke gave her big sister that pink elephant as a present - that's all Kaylee cared about. Here was the last belly picture at 40 weeks, the day I went in the hospital.