Why?

Why, you may ask, am I doing this? Heck, I don't really know. But when I saw a chance to win something, I was all over it. And, I'm not above using my adorable child to do it. So.... keep voting, you're doing a great job!

http://www.protecttoothy.com/smileContest/photoDetails.aspx?photoID=410

Big 8 Tag

8 Favorite T.V. shows

• The Office
• Biggest Loser (so motivating)
• American Idol
• 24 (so glad it's coming back)
• Designed to Sell
• Today Show
• The View (except when Joy is really annoying)
• Good Things Utah

8 Things I Did Yesterday

• Online Christmas shopping
• Almost bought a Nintendo Wii (I just can't decide)
• Got my haircut thanks to Steph
• Book hotel in Florida
• Dropped Mazee of @ Grandma Karen's
• Had yummy homemade Chicken Pot Pie for dinner thanks to Karen
• Watched The Office
• Picked up Jake's anniversary present at the post office

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To

• Carrie Underwood concert on my b-day (Thanks to my A+ hubby)
• Twilight movie
• Jake having the WHOLE winter off of work
• Cruise in January with fam
• Having an enjoyable holiday season with no work
• Putting Christmas decorations up and turning lights on the house
• Thanksgiving dinner
• Christmas

8 Things on My Wish List

• Mazee to walk (she's taking 7-8 steps and is content with that, she won't go any further)
• Snow
• An awesome bra (breastfeeding did a number on me, if you know what I mean)
• Some black boots
• Snow
• My ring to be cleaned and dipped (Hasn't been done since we got married, surprisingly doesn't look too bad
• That Mazee will stay sick-free this winter
• Snow- You might think I'm crazy, but snow means Jake's work season will be over, then 4 months of free time. On the other hand, 4 months of 24/7 time together might be too much for Jake... or both of us.

Thanks for the tag Car, now 8 people I tag are

• Chalan
• Steph H.
• Steph J.
• Mandy
• Lacey
• Suz
• Diana
• Tiff

But for reals, anyone who reads this should do it, I only did 8 to stay with the theme. Honestly, I hate "tagging" people because I feel like I'm choosing favorites and I'm not. I don't want to make anyone feel bad. Am I weird? I just usually put people who I think will do the tag. Okay, I'm gonna stop now. I am weird, I know. I tag everybody!

We Need Your Help!

Hey everybody! We've entered a photo of Mazee into the SelectHealth "What Makes You Smile?" Photo Contest. Now we need your help to win! Just visit the link below and vote for Mazee's photo. Thanks for your help!

http://www.protecttoothy.com/smileContest/photoDetails.aspx?photoID=410

Always Check Your Kids Homework....

**Mommy works at Home Depot, she was selling a shovel.

Good Day

Today is a good day because my favorite cousin and dear friend finally started a blog! I've been waiting for this for a while so we could stay up to date. Now my wish came true and with it came such great news! Love you Suz!!

Halloween Mania

We had a very exciting Halloween this year. I think I was a little too paranoid about Mazee being sick/cold/tired/hungry last year, to really enjoy it. So this year was much better. Mazee was so stinking cute in her little ladybug costume and was such a good sport. When I saw a little cheerleader on the Today show on Halloween morning, it sparked my memory. So I pulled out my old cheer uniforms and found some real classics. Jake was a good sport and dressed up with me, but he wasn't having anything to do with the wig or make-up. He actually only wanted to wear the cheer pants, he said the skirt was going too far. Upon seeing how tight the pants were, I strongly encouraged wearing the skirt. We had a lot of fun.

First piece of candy of the night-- a dum dum.

The Sumsion clan (minus Kraig)

The Sumsion grandkids: Tate=Pablo from The Backyardigans, Creed=Lightning McQueen, Blythe=Corpse Bride, & Mazee=Ladybug

On Saturday night, even though Halloween was over, we had such a fun party with our friends. You're always in for a good time with these guys, and sure enough, it a good time.

Summer's favorite thing to do when we get together is take my camera, shove the camera in someone's face, then go around showing the outcome laughing her butt off. All. Night. Long. I'd thought I'd post this one as the winner, and so you could get the idea of Summer's game. This is Brooke's husband, Brent. He looks like a plastered Al Bundy to me. I asure you, none of us were plastered. Thanks Steph for hosting us in your cute house with yummy food! We had a blast!

Hilarious!

The First of Many

Mazee finally experienced the first of many Disneyland trips to come in her lifetime. If you know the Martinez family, you know they LOVE Disneyland. Actually, I think love is an understatement. They've been known to frequent that spot as often as 9 times a year. Yup, that's a lot of Disneyland lovin'. We had such a fun time though and look forward to when Mazee will understand it a little more. We decided to fly, which I was most apprehensive about. My fears were calmed after we landed in Long Beach, she was such an angel. All that worry for nothin'. Well, lo and behold she just bottled it all up for the flight home. She screamed her ear splitting scream for all to hear and the poor Chinese lady next to me was so nice to let Mazee pet her fur coat. Thank you Chinese lady, that was about the only thing that calmed her. She was such a good girl at Disneyland though and now she is a true Martinez!

Here she is with her stylin' sunglasses that her Aunt Meg gave her. She surprisingly left them on for quite awhile. She got so many laughs and smiles, and a couple "Oh, little Miss Hollywood."

A Disneyland trip wouldn't be complete without the "get-up." Compliments of Grandma Karen.

Classic family pic at the front

Whole fam (p.s. the Halloween decorations are sooo cute!)

And of course, meeting Mickey. She wasn't scared by any of the characters, for some reason she was really intrigued with their noses. Silly girl.

All in all, it was a fun and memorable trip. We couldn't have asked for better conditions: perfect weather, short lines, Mazee being a trooper, and good company thanks to the Martinez fam! With the closing of one vacation means looking forward to another. And boy are we looking forward to our cruise in January!!

No Heimlich for me, thank you.

I had to post this because I keep thinking about it and laughing. On Saturday night after Mazee was all snug in bed, Jake and I cuddled up on the couch with our treats (Sour Patch Kids, Chocolate Covered Peanuts, and Tootsie Rolls) to watch Don't Mess With The Zohan, which we ended up turning off halfway through. (Stupidest/Most Pervy movie EVER! Don't rent!) As throats & tongues are known to do, I swallowed. Not my candy or water, just plain old spit. That spit took the road less traveled and holy cow, I could not breathe. I was wheezing and wheezing, barely able to get a cough out. I know you know what I'm talking about, it happens to everybody. I sat up trying to get more air, and within seconds Jake had me on my feet, standing behind me, with fists clenched over my abdomen which = Heimlich maneuver. All the while, I'm vigorously shaking my head trying to get him to understand that I'm not choking on substance, and envisioning my ribs being crushed by Jake's life saving efforts. Finally, he takes notice of my shaking head and lets his hands down. I slowly got my air back and then we laughed our heads off at how quickly and how seriously he was about doing the Heimlich. I feel like I should come up with a song for Jake like, "You know who to call....Ghostbusters!" I might dare say that he could get to you fast enough, I witnessed his lightning quick reflexes. He's a good one to have around.

Udderly HUGE

Here it is folks. 6th picture, 6th folder. To this day I still think those are the hugest udders I've ever seen. Wow. This was at the Utah State Fair in 2005. I remember it so clearly because as we were leaving the fair with my parents, Summer called. As usual she asked what I was doing, I told her, she asked who I was with, I told her, and then she asked, "Mel, are you guys gonna get married?!" Jake and I hadn't talked about that at all. I giggled and said, "I don't know." And also as usual she probed. (I love you Sum. It's true, you know it.) "But, like, you're considering it?" We both giggle. We're such gigglers. "Sum, I don't know. Maybe." After hanging up, Jake wanted to know what we were talking about. I was too embarassed to tell. Funny thing is, it was decided that very night that we were going to get married. How'd you know Sum?

Anyway, I now tag Steph H., Steph J., Mandy, Di, Carly, and anyone else who wants to do it.

Birthday Bash

Here's a few of the pictures from Mazee's party, finally. It turned out great. All the family came and Mazee did really well considering she had the flu. She got some really fun toys and has been playing with them non-stop. Thanks again to all the fam for coming and for the cute presents!

You can see she's not feeling well, but this is her and daddy with her cake. I'm no Betty Crocker, this was the first cake I've ever decorated, so cut me some slack. It's a butterfly if you can't tell.

Mazee LOVED the cake, but I was leery to let her eat too much because I didn't want to have to clean up the aftermath, if you know what I mean.

Me & my favorite niece, Blythe

Have You Heard...

that they changed the opening day of the Twilight movie? Maybe I was the last to find out, but for those of you who didn't know either, they changed it to November 21st. That will be my birthday "weekend," which means I get whatever I want, which means Jake will have to go with me! Yes. Can't wait!!!

I'm still not sure about Edward. Is it just me?

Plagued

We've all been plagued with the flu at our house. We're finally over it, but it's put me behind. Will catch up soon.

And we're leaving for Disneyland with Jake's family in a week and a half, for some much, MUCH needed vacationing. Yay!

Long & Lean

I took Mazee to the Dr. yesterday for her 1 year check up and she is in the 98.5 percentile for height! She keeps getting longer and longer, I can't believe it. Poor little thing got the flu the day after her birthday and has been throwing up and having the "runs," then had to get 4 immunizations at the doctor. She's been having a rough time but has been so, so good. You couldn't ask for a better sick kid. Today she is finally back to herself and eating good again. Yay! Let's just say we will be getting the flu shot!

P.S. Pictures to come soon of the birthday party!

Sweet Memories

Mazee is one today. Crazy. One year and 7 minutes ago she was born. I remember feeling so amazed by such a miracle, then the rush of overwhelming anxiety hit when I realized that Jake and I were now responsible for her. I'm so grateful I didn't have to do it all on my own. Thankfully, the anxiety subsided and I think Jake and I have done a pretty good job so far, with it's ups and downs of course. Having a child is an incredible thing as I'm sure you all would agree. I never knew I could experience such a myriad of feelings for such a little thing, ranging from frustration, to worry, to absolute joy, to such a fierce and protective love. It has been a whirlwind of a year, but we couldn't love Mazee more. She keeps us on our toes and are in awe everyday at the things she says, does, and learns. Jake and I are constantly asking ourselves, "How did we get so lucky?" I feel so blessed and so thankful to be her mama. We love you so much Mazee, Happy 1st Birthday!

Holding sweet Mazee for the first time

So proud.

Mazee's first bath. (Yup, definitely tired eyes.)

LOVE the pictures!

It doesn't get any cuter than this!

We got our family picures done and I am so happy with them! Luckily, Mazee was in her cheesy/ham mood so it didn't take much coaxing. Our photographer was Carrie Mann and I would definitely recommend her! The only hard part was choosing out of the 330 photos which ones to blow up. Here's some of my favorites:

LOVE getting new things!

After 3 long months we finally got our new couch!! 3 months, you ask?!? I know, seriously. Long story. We had plans of putting it downstairs and having a nice movie/family room. Well, little did we know that a house built in the 1950's wouldn't let our couch through, and we were barely lucky enough to get it through the front door to put upstairs. Literally, I have a lot of touch-up painting to do in the front entry now. I think it will work out nicely though. We are really happy with our purchase.They forgot to leave the ottoman though, so hopefully it's not another 3 months until we get that!

Real Life Picture Tag

I have been tagged with a REAL LIFE PICTURE TAG. The rules are you have to take pictures of the following things, and you have to do it RIGHT AWAY. No straightening, cleaning or wiping your child's nose. I took them right away I did not touch a thing. No Cheating.

The Refrigerator: LOVE Caffeine Free Diet Coke!!!

Kitchen Sink: Good thing I cleaned it yesterday!

The Closet: both mine and Jake's clothes couldn't fit in the closet in our bedroom. So being the good wife I am, I moved my clothes to the janky closet downstairs.

Favorite pair of shoes: got them last week and love 'em. Definitely not convenient or comfy.

The Pantry, or what would be considered the pantry at our house

Favorite Room: it's the one I put the most time into decorating.

Laundry Room: Let's just say-- winter project for Jake!

Self Portrait: Ewww!

The Bathroom:

What is my child doing right now? Climbing all over me! Good thing I'm at the end!

Now I tag... Shantelle, Mandy, Carlie, Diana, both Steph's, and anyone else. Do it, it's fun!

Coming...

We got family pictures done last week and they are going to be awesome! I'll be sure to post when we get them. Stay tuned...

Grateful

My friends and I went and stayed up in Park City overnight. We hit the great deals at the outlets, ate at Ruby Tuesday's, and talked and laughed ALL NIGHT LONG! I'm grateful to have such good friends. Most of us grew up in the same neighborhood since we were 4 or 5 years old, so we really know and understand each other well. We've been through A LOT together and have thousands of memories, it's so rejuvenating to have those hour long talks. They make me want to be a better wife and mother. This was only the third time Jake and I have been apart since we got married and the first time I've left Mazee for that long. I love them with all my heart, but it was such a nice break, if even just for one night. I'm so grateful Jake is such a good dad and takes such good care of Mazee, I didn't even have to worry at all. Anyway, I'm just feeling really GRATEFUL and BLESSED today! Sorry so sappy. Here's some pics of our outing.

Yup... we're dorks.

And this was just one of the cute finds from the outlets. I love Old Navy jammies! Mazee's so excited.

Loves All Around

Mazee seems to be in this period where time has sped up and she is growing so fast. She took a while learning to crawl, but then she went from the army crawl, to all 4's crawling so fast and now she's almost walking. I can't believe she's almost 1!! Honestly, where does the time go!! She recently learned how to climb the stairs! Scary!

A week or two ago I was bathing Mazee and this is the little surprise we found...

or maybe surprise isn't the right word. Apparently, I wasn't the only one scared of "it." Her face is priceless.

My awesome husband surprised me one day last week with roses, perfume, and Circus Animals cookies. Loved the goods, and love him!

My first canning experience was a success thanks to my mom! My awesome cousins gave us a box of peaches and my even more awesome mom showed up and taught me how to can peach jam. My mom honestly is the best mom, she is always there and willing to help no matter the time or task involved. I couldn't ask for a better mom or friend, I love you Mom! I appreciate your advice and wisdom and couldn't live without it! I'm convinced between you and dad, you know everything there is to know.