Mike and Jessica Ulrich Family

Sweet Sophie

2011-12-10T13:46:00.001-08:00

My two sweet girls! Gracie doesn't care too much about Sophie yet. She will only hold her for about 1 second. Literally! Lately though, she has been saying, "Oh Sophie is so cute!"

One day Sophie was crying and Gracie started panicking, "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Sophie is crying!"

Sophie was blesses on Lisa's birthday, December 4, 2011. She looked beautiful in her long white dress from Grandma Kim, her pink satin slippers, pink and crystal bracelet from Grandma Julie and her homemade headband with pink and white rolled roses. She was an angel during the blessing. Mike did an awesome job. I'm grateful for him and the priesthood he holds and honors.
Here are the girls in our family that came to the blessing.
Our little family. It's hard to get us to all look at the same camera!
Sophie is such a happy, smiling baby. She has been smiling since she was 3-weeks-0ld and only wakes up once a night at 2:30 am. She is up for the day at 7:30. Her big brother would hold her all day if I would let him. She is so fun to have around and I thank my Heavenly Father for her and our whole family every day. I have the cutest kids ever.

Dear Sophie,

2011-10-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Sophie Julieann,

You are 2 days old and we are loving you to pieces! When I left for the hospital on Thursday morning, I was so nervous! I didn't know what to expect and the anticipation was killing me. I woke up at 5:45 and called the hospital to see if they had room to induce me. I was relieved when they said they did. I though I would be able to fall back asleep for a half hour, but I was wrong! I slowly got ready and at 7 I headed over to the hospital.

When I left the house that morning, I was surprised to see snow on the back patio. It was chilly and it had been raining really hard all night. Luckily, I was bundled up in one of your dad's jackets, because mine were all too small.

When I got to the hospital they were very friendly and hooked me up to the IV around 8 am. Your dad had to get Max on the bus for school and drop Gracie off at Beth's, so he didn't get to the hospital until 9. The nurses teased me about being alone, and when your dad finally came I was relieved to have some company.

Things went slowly only for the first 2 hours. Then the doctor broke my water around 10:30. That's when the fun began! The contractions started getting harder and I made your dad hold my hand.

Around 11:30 I decided I couldn't handle the pain anymore so I asked for my epidural. Luckily, I was almost a 5 and completely effaced at that point so they called in the anesthesiologist and got me my drugs! I was so happy after that!

After I had the epidural, your heart rate started dropping a little and the doctor seemed nervous so he made me use oxygen . The nurse made me lay on my side and told me to relax. She kept saying I was going to be a 10 in no time, and I didn't believe her. About an hour after that I started feeling a lot of pressure so I called the nurse in. I was ready to go!

At 12:58 I started pushing and you were here by 1:14 you were here! The doctor said the cord was wrapped around your little neck two times, and that might be why your heart rate was dropping a little. I cried like a baby when they laid you on my chest. I was so happy and relieved to have you here! It was amazing! I told the nurses you were my favorite child, because the labor was so much easier than your siblings!

About 2 minutes after you were born, Grandma Kim came in the room. She didn't even realize that you were here until she got close. She couldn't believe you had come so fast! I couldn't believe it either! I was so glad I didn't have to have another c-section.

I got to spend a lot of time alone with you after you were born, and the spirit was so strong. I was so grateful to have another gift from Heavenly Father. I feel so lucky to be your mom!

You have been a great baby! You sleep all day and you even slept through the night last night! I woke up in a panic at 7:30 because you were still fast asleep in Daddy's arms.

Max just loves you to death. He thinks you are the sweetest little baby ever! Gracie seems to be unsure of what's going on. When you cry she gets a look of panic on her face!

Day at the lake. -By Mike

2011-09-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

That's my boy! I know everyone who has met Maximo knows he is an awesome kid. He is always nice to his litter sister (who has been calling him Maximomo lately). He has such a good attitude about everything. His imagination is one of a kind. Now that we have established that I think the world of my boy, let me say, he went the extra mile and made me even more proud of him today!! He is a man after my heart!

About a three months ago he pinky promised me that he'd ski with me this year. He came through today.

He ended up loving it after I told him I'd give him ten bucks that he can use to buy anything he wants!

There are my beautiful girls! I've got a good lookin family. Great morning, now off to watch some college football! Who could ask for anything more?

Gracie's Eye Surgery!

2011-09-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Gracie went in for eye surgery last Thursday, September 8th. She did so well. She seemed nervous when we got to the hospital, but she didn't complain about anything. She only said she was 'hungee' once, and she had to wait until 12:30 before they took her back.

They had toys for the kids to play with before they went back, and this was the only one that Gracie was interested in. She seemed very passive and apprehensive. She was sad when the nurse gave her a blue hospital bracelet. Under her breath she whispered, "Oh, I want a pink one." It was so cute.
Right before they took her back they gave her a sedative so she wouldn't get separation anxiety when they took her back. It made her so loopy! She started slurring her words and saying funny things like, "I'm a baaabby! You're Jeeeessssicca!" Her little head was wobbling back and forth like she was drunk. It was pretty funny.

Gracie was also pretty sad about the blue gown she had to wear and the yellow socks. She kept saying, "they buggin' mom!"

She sat very still as they checked her vitals before surgery. She was a very good girl.
When Gracie came out of surgery she was very sad and kept saying, "I o.k. Mom, I o.k." She ripped out her IV and blood went everywhere, it was so sad. She kept crying and I had to help the nurse hold her down so they could put the IV back in to giver her morphine to calm her down. While the nurse was telling her she was going to give her medicine to make her feel better, Gracie was crying,"NO Thank you!"She was a sweetheart the whole time.

Doctor Hoffman said everything went technically well. He said it would take months before we know if it was successful or not. It takes a while before the brain can adjust to what has been done. So far, so good. Her eyes seem to have straightened out and as of yesterday she seems to be completely out of pain.

I have a Kindergartner? What the?

2011-08-31T20:00:00.001-07:00

I thought I would cry when Max started school, but I didn't. He was way too excited and I was too busy comforting Gracie. She was so depressed that he got on the "big oange car" and left. She said again and again, "We are coming brother, Maximo, we coming!" We followed his bus to school so we could meet him at the door and when he finally got off the bus she was so happy to see him, but he was too excited to notice.
Max is so funny. The thing he was most excited for was his new Airwalks! He was convinced they would make him run twice as fast and would help him beat Mikey to the mailbox. He is always posing! He is so cute!
Max's teacher met him at the bus stop. Her name is Mrs. Lee. When Max walked up to her, I heard her lean over to the principal and tell him he better meet Max because he is hilarious! The principal bent down to meet Max and the only thing Max could tell him was that he had awesome new shoes that were going to make him super fast. s

I was nervous to put Max on the bus the first day, but his teacher said she preferred for them to ride the bus the first two weeks of class if they were going to ride at all, because she meets them every morning and puts them right on their bus everyday for the first two weeks. Max was so excited to ride the bus and it only takes 10 minutes for him to get to school after he gets on in the morning.

On the way home from school it took a little longer for him to get home because the bus driver had to make sure every kid was getting dropped off at the right stop. Max said he was getting nervous because the driver was going home in a "jumbled way, but when he saw our church he got the clue that they were on the right track" and he stopped crying.

It was hot on the bus and Max wanted to change right when he got home, because he said, "my bum is soggin' wet, and I gotta get out of my underwear!"

He loves school and, although he can't tell me what he's learning cause he forgets, he says he is having a blast.

When I asked him if he made any new friends he told me yes. I asked what their names were and he said, "I don't know, who needs names anyway?"

He is a laugh a minute and we are so proud of him!

Gracie's Birthday!

2011-08-31T19:39:00.001-07:00

I am SO in LOVE with this little sweetie! Gracie had a great birthday. Her birthday was on a Sunday this year so we had to hurry to church before presents and cake. Gracie did not want to wait. She took one look at her cake and shoved her face into it! It was so cute, and it was even better that it didn't get all over her dress.

Gracie loves princesses all of the sudden so she had a princess party. She told me she wanted a pink cake, so that's what she got. She got lots of fun presents.

Mom and Dad got her pretend hair styling supplies, and a doll house. Max her a Rapunzel. Grandma Kim and Grandpa Mike got her Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty dress ups, and Grandma Julie and Grandpa Dave got her fun bath time supplies and a swimming suit.

There are so many things I love about Gracie! She and Max play so well together. Today he was giving her horsey back rides. When she fell off though, she hit her head on the table. Max said he was sorry, but that's why he was using "safety precautions" (Daisy's leash as a seat belt). It was hilarious.

Gracie has known all of her colors for months now and knows most of her shapes too. She is a very smart girl and speaks in sentences. She has been very interested in potty training all ready. The only bad thing is that she likes to take her diaper off as soon as she feels the need to evacuate and pees all over the floor, it's awesome! I have gone through a bottle of Spot Shot already following her around the house. She loves to be naked and knows how to dress herself so no outfit can outsmart her.

Gracie loves to sing and dance! She knows all the princess songs and requests me to sing them to her daily. Her favorite song right now is Part of Your World from Little Mermaid. She knows all of the words and it's so fun to catch her singing when she doesn't think anyone is listening.

Gracie is also learning how to manipulate us! Every night she tries to tell us that she needs lunch cause she's "hungee" or "firsty." She also tells us, "but I'm happy! I'm 'wake' mom! Good Morning!" When we do give in and let her stay up a little bit she says, "Yay! Mommy happy today!"

Gracie is getting to be more and more fun everyday and she seems excited for her little sister to arrive. She kisses my belly and tickles it. She is a sweet heart! I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have two sweet beautiful daughters. We are going to have a blast together.

Only 5 more weeks!

Catch up time

2011-06-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Jessica says it is time for me to post on our family blog, so here we go! Life is great! Today is Max's 5th birthday. Jessica is feeling great in her 2nd trimester. Gracie is a sassy little lady in her pink glasses. I am loving my new job with Cambridge Financial. There you have it. For the best part of blogs see the pictures below!

Max's Transformer cake

The party

Birthday Morning

Max's G Q

Preschool Graduation. Max got the "Big Hunk" award from his teacher, Ms Connie.

Us at the Zoo

More of the G Q
Easter Sunday

There you have it folks. Happy Blog Stalking!!

Life is good.

2011-05-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

I am pretty much the worst blogger ever. This is probably the best scrapbook my kids will ever have because I'm not very crafty, although I am going to try and get some stuff done this summer. Anywho, I just wanted to write down a few things that have been going on in our lives lately.

My birthday is this week and Mike has been spoiling me to death. I love it. It has been the best birthday, and it's not even until Tuesday! We went to the zoo yesterday and I loved watching the kids get so excited about all of the animals. They are so curious. I love Max's creative imagination and Gracie's pure joy.

Mike is loving his new job at Cambridge Financial as a financial planner/ advisor, and I am loving it too. It has been so much better than we anticipated. Things are going great and I love the fact that my husband isn't out knocking doors this summer. He has a lot of flexibility with this job and I love the gift cards and perks that salesmen get. We got a new Dyson with one of his gift cards from Best Buy and we love it.

I am just enjoying my stinking cute kids and trying to be a better house wife. I am almost 21 weeks pregnant with our baby girl. The first part of my pregnancy was a little tough and I spent a lot of time on the couch. Mike was very patient with me and the dirty house so I'm trying to be much better at keeping the house clean now that I feel fabulous.

My performing group had their recital on April 29th and it's such a relief to have it done. I am thinking I will take a break next year and let myself adjust to being a mother of 3.

I am also loving my new calling as YW president. I love the girls and I love hanging out with them.

Max is adorable as always and is convinced that the baby should be named Zoey. I really like the name Zoey, but I'm not sure if it's her name. He kept saying, "We already know her name mom, it's Zoey! Got it?" I'm tempted to name her Zoey just because it's a good story.

Max did awesome at our performance last month and sang really loud. He loves to be on stage and he is natural little performer. He always wants to make people laugh. He is very sweet to his little sister and is very thoughtful and loving all the time. He knows just how to make me smile everyday and he always says very sweet things that make my heart melt. I am really going to miss him while he's in kindergarten next year :(.

Max has his last day of school on the 25th and he also has his program that day. I can't wait until it's warm enough outside for us to buy a swimming pool and spend lots of hours outside with the neighbors.

Gracie is turning into a little sweetheart. She's not as sassy as she was before. The doctor adjusted the prescription in her glasses and I think it has helped her to be less frustrated. Although she can see better, she is still cross-eyed so we are going to have to meet with a surgeon at Primary Children's to see if surgery can help with her Strabismus. He isn't taking new patients until July so we will have to patient until we can get an appointment.

Gracie LOVES to sing and although she can't get the words out fast enough, she mouths the words to her favorite songs while the rest of us sing for her. She loves the ABC's, eensy weensy spider, monkey and the alligator and Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. It's so fun watching her grow up and get more personality. She loves playing with her baby dolls and coloring. She also enjoys stealing toys from Max and running away. She is a sweetie and loves her daddy more than anyone else in the whole world.

She is also very girly. She loves wearing frilly "pincess" dresses and putting on "nake up" with mom in the mornings. I love the few hours we get alone together each week while Max is at school. It's a good chance for us to snuggle and play without her trying to compete with Max for my attention. Which is hard, since Max can't stand it if someone else it getting his attention!

Overall, we are loving life. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family. Mike and I make a great team. He is such an awesome dad and takes great care of all of us. I couldn't have found anyone better matched for my personality. He is my best friend and I am so happy to have found him.

My kids are the cutest in the world, of course, and they make my life amazing. I honestly can't think of a better job than being able to stay home with my little sweeties. I hope we can have a few more kiddos to finish off our family. I love being a mom. I don't want to do anything else.

Max the Great!

2011-03-11T19:40:00.000-08:00

Max is my little actor. He is always playing some kind of character. He is such a sweetie and always wants to invent things or make new creations. I love the way his little mind works.

Max insisted that he have a Captain America mask with feathers on the side to go with his Captain America shield. He was very disappointed that I didn't sew him one. Apparently my mask making skills are lacking. This mask was below his expectations, but he enjoyed it for an hour before Gracie destroyed it.

He never has a straight face when we take his picture. He always has to pose!

This wasn't even the same day and he just had to put his foot up on the arm rest because it makes his look more powerful.

He thought Gracie would really enjoy a wonder woman mask. Since she is always trying to steal his costumes, I agreed to make her one so she would leave him alone.

Here they are playing the drums. Max says he wants to be a rock star or chef one day.

He always knows the correct pose a rock star would choose. I love his cute happy personality. He makes me smile every day. I am so lucky to be his mom.

Max was dying to do a science experiment the other day. I tried getting him to make a lava lamp, but he always goes for the volcano. It's his favorite science experiment. He was so proud of his creation!

I love the fact that he is sticking his tongue out here. I always do that when I'm concentrating. He was so proud that he was able to make it explode on his own!

Max is a really good big brother and is always taking care of his little sister. He does get frustrated when she destroys his school projects. I think she just likes hearing paper rip. Poor Max.

Max is very cautious, as most everyone knows, and he doesn't enjoy doing anything that's risky. If Gracie climbs up on anything he screams for her to stop because it's too dangerous. We love his sweet spirit and is always saying something to make us chuckle. He is learning to read and is always so proud of himself when he sounds something out on his own.

I can't believe Max is going to be in Kindergarten this year. I am going to cry. I'm not kidding...

Crazy Gracie.

2011-03-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

What can I say about my sweet little Gracie. She has been quite sassy lately! She just got her new pink glasses and within an hour they were broken! I'm still not sure how she was able to break them, but she did it in record time.

Gracie has strabismus and is far-sighted and had to get glasses last week. She is only 20 months and she is very cute with them on. She actually doesn't seem to mind them too much and only takes them off occasionally.

Gracie is a great eater and will try anything. She loves fresh fruit and vegetables and mac n' cheese. She also loves any type of soup or yogurt. She always eats better and faster than her big brother.
Gracie is very good at throwing tantrums. At least once a day she looks like this.

She also LOVES music and dancing. Anytime there is music on t.v. she stops what she is doing and does a little dance. She loves having jam sessions on pots and pans with her big bro.

Gracie also LOVES Elmo and every time we get in the car she screams "MO MO!" She knows we have the video in the car and tries to demand it every morning when I take Max to preschool.

Gracie loves to dress up. If there are any clothes on the floor she will find a way to get them on. Max's underwear and socks are her usual favorites. She also loves any shoes she can find.

We love our little Gracie. She is starting talk a lot more and get extremely frustrated when we don't know what she is asking for. She is very independent and loves her baby dolls. She is always putting them "night Night." She loves her daddy and if he is home she refuses to be held by anyone but him. Daddy loves it!

Christmas 2010!

2011-01-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

OOOh! I love Christmas time! We had such a blast this year. We got to enjoy Ben and Amber's wedding in the beginning of the week and we had a long break from reality. The kids were very cute and really enjoyed their presents!

Max and Lisa are very cute with each other. When we go to my parents house they disappear and play together all day long. They were examining Santa's cookies in this picture. And eating fudge for breakfast:)
This is the only thing Max asked for for Christmas. An Iron Man helmet. He was extremely spoiled and got so many things I can't even remember them all. What a lucky boy!
Every year we read the Polar Express. Gracie was enjoying the pictures.
Decorating the cute cookies. So fun!
Gracie loves Buck! Every time we go to my parent's she starts yelling, "Buck, Buck!" Grandpa was nice to let her play with him a lot!
Max and Gracie are good little buddies now. Here they are wrestling and Max screams, "Hurry Mom! Get a camera, we are doing something cute!"
Grandpa Ray and Grandma Bev love their Great Grandkids. Max and Gracie are very lucky to have lots of Great Grandparents and Grandparents that adore them!
Gracie loved her new dress up box that Max gave her.
Watch out! Here comes a mad woman with a baby on board!
Max loves Grandma Bev. She always reads him stories.
Since Gracie always steals everyone's jewelry Santa thought that she would love some of her own.
The kids are so cute! We had a great time! Sadly we stopped taking pictures after the morning and didn't get any at the Ulrich party later that day.

My sweet little angel!

2011-01-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

My Gracie Kay is growing up so fast. She is already 18 months old! I really can't believe how much they change in such a short amount of time. Gracie really is a sweetie. Here are some cute things she has been doing lately.

She has always loved Daisy and wants to kiss and hug her every chance she gets. Daisy was her first word and the only word she said for about 5 months.

She loves her big brother and they are starting to play so well together. It's so fun to see Max taking care of her. Tonight they were both pretending to be puppies.

She LOVES her new motorized 4 wheeler that Grandma Kim got her for Christmas. It is hilarious to see her hop on it and zip off. She is a little daredevil and I kind of love it.

She loves swimming and playing the bath tub. She scares me a lot because she likes to dip her face in the water and blow bubbles. Max is always trying to save her life in the tub. I am always there watching, but he can't understand why she would want to put her face in the water. He has always been very cautious.

She will eat anything and everything you put in front of her and always eats more than Max does. He is going to be a skinny mini. She is just the right size and I'm so happy she has caught up to and passed many kids her age with her weight and height. You would never guess that she was 8 weeks early.

She is starting to talk more and more every day. She mimics me a lot and knows how to get what she wants now, so she isn't throwing tantrums anymore!

She loves to sing and dance. She surprised us at Christmas time when we realized she knew all of the actions to 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town,' I had been forcing Max to sing it for everyone and one day we noticed she knew it too. It was so adorable.

She sleeps really well and is always a happy baby in the morning.

She loves her little baby dolls and calls them 'babayee.' She kisses them and rocks them and puts them 'nih night.' She always has a baby in her arms.

She loves to dress up and play in my make up, which kind of scares me a little. I always have to be on the look out for abandoned chap stick. She will put it all over her body if I don't watch closely.

She is a sweetie and knows how to ham it up in front of new people. She blows strangers kisses in the grocery store and says 'Hi' to people when they pass us.

She loves books and if she ever goes missing we can find her in Max's room on the bean bag chair looking at his books or playing his piano. She insists on shutting the door when she does this. It's almost like she already needs her privacy. It's funny.

She is a snuggly baby and will rest her head on my shoulder if I sing to her or rock her. I absolutely love it!

I love my little Gracie Kay! She is so fun to have around!

Catch up post!

2010-12-05T21:58:00.000-08:00

Halloween! The kids were very excited about their costumes. Max insisted on being a magician after we saw a lame magic show at the Heritage theater.

Brooke took these pics of the kiddos. I love them!

I just think Max and his cousins are so cute. They all play really well together. They are probably playing Angry Birds on the ipod or something. Kids these day and their technologically advanced toys!

We had our Christmas recital last Thursday, now I can finally relax and catch up on months of lost blogging. I have just been posting pictures to facebook because it's so much faster and easier. I don't waste too much time on blogger anymore, but I do like the journal aspect of blogger.

Rydgee, Emmy and Max. They sang so well!

Tia, Faith, Jericka, Abby and Brigette. I absolutely love their costumes.

Max and Emmy have been buddies since they were born. They are betrothed...

Whitney and Danzi! So cute! They tell me the sweetest little things in class. Kids are awesome. I love teaching.

Max and Lisa have the best imaginations. They are best buddies. Lisa takes awesome care of Max and Gracie and they disappear for hours when we are there.

Mike and I got to go on another awesome FREE cruise thanks to Living Scriptures! We had to wait a long time in the airport so we started taking strange pictures. We are dorks.
The classic before dinner pose. We have a million of these and in most of them we are wearing these outfits. We are cheap!

Barbados street market after a long day on the beach. We loved Barbados!
This was a lookout point in St. Lucia. Our cab driver tried to rip us off. Big surprise.
We rented vans in Antigua. This island was also really fun. We spent a lot of time exploring in these awesome vans. I had to sit on the emergency brake the whole time, but hey, it was an adventure!
This was in St. Maarten. We rented 4 wheelers and went up to Fort Louis.

Before we left the kids were very interested in the cruise brochure. They are so stinkin' cute. I want to squeeze their cheeks to death!

Southern California Part 2!

2010-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

I didn't take any pictures at Sea World, which was fabulous, but here are a few pictures of us on the yacht we stayed on. It was AWeSomE!

Max loved sleeping on a boat. He thought it was very cool.
We even had cable on the boat! Thanks again friend!

Southern California Vacation Part 1!

2010-10-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

I had to start with Gracie's cheesy face. She does this every time we take her picture. As you can see, she was very excited to be in Disneyland!

We spent a little time at the Pirate's lair. Max loved looking for the treasure. I think it's fairly new, because I had never seen it before. We saw the actress Molly Ringwald while we were on the little island. It's hard not to stare at famous people, even if you're not really a fan.

Max is such a poser. Here he is on the treasure he found. Don't you love the leisurely posture?

Gracie was pretty happy during our trip. People kept telling us how sweet she looked. It was actually pretty cold there. We were bundled up pretty much the whole time.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho a pirate's life for me!

Gracie stayed asleep for about 4 rides. We really loved the snuggles.

Gracie doesn't look very happy but she actually had a great time.

These pictures are a little backwards, but here we are on the way down.

Max loved the little travel games we got him.

My little cheeseball!

2010-10-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Gracie has been so cute lately! Well, she is always cute, but she is finally acting cute too. For a while there her teeth were bothering her and she was constantly grumpy. Now she is just as happy and cute as can be.

We have been having a lot of fun with her since Max started preschool. She gets all of the attention and she loves it. This morning she was licking the salt off of a plate and she loved it. I was giving her a bite of my hard boiled egg and when it was gone she stole my plate and walked around licking it for a while. It was hilarious!

When we told her to smile for the pictures she was totally cheesing it. I love her cute expression in the pictures. She is so funny.

Lately she has been getting into the pantry and bringing out the marshmallows. She loves to munch on them. She doesn't say much, but she can say Daisy pretty well. She can also whine for things too!

She loves it when Max tickles her, and she loves to be chased by her Daddy. She has been an awesome snuggler too. She LOVES to eat and will eat pretty much anything we put in front of her, but she seems to love apples the most.

I love my sweet little Grace and I'm so glad I'm her mom. She is becoming a little sweetheart!

Oh my little Max. Melt my heart.

2010-08-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

We just got these pictures taken a couple weeks ago. I think they turned out pretty good. Lewis family pictures to come soon....

Max has been the best little boy today. He has been telling me he loves me all day and that he wants to grown big and strong so he can be in charge and marry me someday. Here's how our conversation went,

Max: You only marry one person and that's all, huh mom?
Me: Yep.
Max: Well, I will just have to wait my turn then. When I get big and strong like you, I will protect you from bad guys and beat them up if they try to hurt you and if you get hurt I will hug you till you feel better. K Mom? We will get married in the temple, but it will be strange if I'm small, cause I won't know what I'm doing or where I am. I just love ya Mom.
Me: That is so nice Max! You are such a good boy.
Max: I know. I'm awesome.

Then 5 minutes later, Gracie was trying to get into the dog food while I was cooking dinner. I kept telling her to stop. Finally, Max was frustrated with me and tried to tell me how to discipline her a little better.

Max: Mom, you have to get fired up.
Me: I'm trying Max, she just isn't listening to me. I don't know what to do with her.
Max: Yeah, she is getting on my nerves too. You just have to get really fired up and scare her and make her cry. Isn't that right mom? When you scare me, I know you're serious.
Me: I think I am fired up Max. Don't you think?
Max: Well, just get little more angry and say NO NO NO Gracie. Then she will get scared and cry and stop.
Me: Ok. I will keep that in mind Max. Thanks for your help.

I could write things about Max every single day. He is very creative and always asks me to make him things. Lately he has been asking for a Bugs Bunny costume. He told me that I only need some gray fabric and I could whip it right up.

He is always so happy. I love his little face:)

Gracie, on the other hand, has been a stinker! She is super cute, but very dramatic. If she is upset she throws a tantrum and lays her face in her hands!

At her 1 year checkup she was 21.4 pounds, and in the 50th percentile. She was in 75th for height and 90th for her head. She is getting so big and when she is happy she is the cutest little girl around. She loves to give kisses to everyone and is actually a pretty good snuggle bug. She wakes up at 6:45 or 7 every morning and is down for her first nap before Max even gets up for the day. She loves to say, "Uh Oh. Hello. Ma Ma and Da Da." When she rests her head on your should she says "Ahhh." She flirts with all of our neighbors and if someone waves at her, she acts shy and buries her face in my shoulder. She has four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom. She is a sweetie and we love her!

Gracie turns 4!

2010-07-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

My little sweetie turned 1 yesterday! I can't even believe a year has passed by. I am a little sad, but a also excited for what's to come. It's so fun to see her learning and growing. She has the cutest personality.
She loves music and she bounces up and down when I'm singing or Max is dancing around the front room.
She is getting huge! She was over 20 pounds last time I took her in to the doctor.
She loves the bath and will literally try to crawl in if she hears the water running. If she is ever in a bad mood, the tub will cheer her up!
She absolutely loves Max and he makes her giggle all of the time.
She gives kisses, claps, and waves hello really well.
When we leave the room she gets upset and throws a little tantrum by laying her head in her hands and crying. She is very dramatic about everything.
She is a very good baby and is rarely cross unless she is tired or hungry or someone leaves her alone in a room.
Mike taught Gracie to lay her head on his shoulder when he says "ahhh!." It is very sweet and we absolutely love it when she snuggles with us!

Ayla was staying with Grandpa and Grandma Ulrich and she came to Gracie's party with them. She was so cute trying to feed Gracie her birthday cake.

Gracie was very spoiled on her birthday and got musical instruments, a Jessie doll, 2 books, outfits, cowgirl boots, mary jane shoes and stacking toys! The other kids loved her toys as much as she did!
She kept trying to grab the candle off of her cake. It was a bear with a tutu. The colors were very bright and fun just like my little chubbykins!

Grandpa Dave and Ayla

It was extremely difficult to get Max and Gracie to smile at the same time and the flash was bothering Gracie so she kept squinting.

Here is a spread of some of the toys she got for her birthday. I took the picture before Grandma and Grandpa Lewis and Ulrich showed up:)

She did pretty well opening her presents. She ripped open the paper on her own.

Happy Birthday Gracie Kay! We love you so much and we love watching you grown. You can stop growing now please!

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-20T21:05:00.001-07:00

Can I just say that I have the most amazing husband on the planet! I am so in love with my Mikey and, although it is cheesy, I just want him to know how grateful I am to have him in my life. He is an amazing father. Gracie and Max just adore him. We are so lucky to have him in our lives. He works so hard for our family and never complains. Never. He is so nice to everyone he meets and honors the Priesthood. I am so glad that I will be with him for all eternity!

I am also so grateful for an awesome dad that taught me that I deserve to be treated with respect. I am so glad that my parents didn't let me settle for anything less than the best. I knew I would never marry someone that they didn't approve of, and they sure let me know when they thought someone wasn't good enough for me. I really appreciate that now, looking back. Thanks for bringing out the bat Dad! It made me feel like I was special, and I knew I could count on you to always be there for me. I love my parents! Happy Father's Day Daddio! You really are the best. I hope you know how much we all love you!

Super Hero Max turns 4!

2010-06-16T18:22:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it, but my little Maximo is 4! Right now he is pretending that he is in space and that gummy bears are attacking him. He keeps calling me on his cell phone while he is flying through space on his new transformers scooter that Cassie sent him. He told me he can't move because there is hot sauce all over the ground. He is so imaginative!

Max says words like fantastic, amazing and spectacular all of the time. Today he asked me, "Do you mind if I ride my scooter now?" He is always making me laugh and his mind never stops working. He loves his cousins, aunts and uncles so much. He also has a lot of great friends in our neighborhood like Mikey, Carson, Courtney, and Ethan.

Max is constantly dressing up as every character he can imagine, including a pirate, princess, Buzz Lightyear, Iron Man, Woody, Jungle Bob, and a fireman. Lately he has been asking me for his 'two choices' if he doesn't want to do something. He says, "Give me two choices Mom. Either go play, or go to bed!" Of course, those are never the two choices I give him, but he knows how to attempt to work the system. I rarely have to get mad at him. He is the best little boy around.

He is extremely smart and can identify all of the letters in the alphabet and he knows their primary sound. He has been able to write his name since Christmas and he loves to make up songs and rock out on his air guitar in the backseat of the car. He is a sweetie and tells me I look beautiful all the time. He LOVES his little sister and always treats her very nicely. He is always very helpful and helps me keep her happy while I'm trying to clean the house or fix dinner.

Max is starting preschool in the Fall and I am a little worried about Gracie and I. How will we stay entertained in the hours he is gone? He absolutely adores his Daddy and when Mike has to leave for work Max tells him he has been 'missing him for three days' without fail, every time we talk to Mike on the phone.

There are so many things that I love about my little guy. I could go on and on all day. He is very clever and everyone tells me how much they love him! I am so proud of him and I want him to stop growing up!

Gracie Kay, 9 1/2 month stats!

2010-04-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

This post is about Gracie, but I just wanted to share this little picture of Max! He loves healthy food. While we were at the grocery store he begged for carrots so he could pretend he was a bunny. When we got home he wouldn't leave me alone until I got it out for him and he gobbled the whole thing up!
My sweet little Gracie is 9 1/2 months old. Here are her stats from her 9 month check up.

18.15 pounds, 50%
28 ", 52%
Head circumference 45 1/2, 80%

Max and Gracie love story time. Their eyes look a little freaky from the red eye, but I was laughing because they were both loving the new book that Grandma Julie brought to Max yesterday. It was the cutest book ever and it was about a boy named Max. I swear that the author has been stalking us, because it was like it was written all about my Max!
Gracie nibbled on a carrot too. This is her first hair do! I managed to pull it up into a little ponytail. She absolutely hated it. I did piggy tails today and she screamed bloody murder! I think she's in trouble, she doesn't realize how crazy her mother is about doing little girl's hair!
Gracie really is the sweetest little babe. She is rolling everywhere and seems like she might be getting on her knees to crawl soon. She says Mama and Dadda and Ya ya ya. Max is her favorite form of entertainment. She just cut her bottom two teeth and we can't believe she is growing up so fast.

Gracie Kay, 8 1/2 months!

2010-04-04T21:02:00.001-07:00

I might be biased, but I really think she is the cutest baby girl ever!! Brooke took these pictures on Saturday.
She is always so pleasant, and she is really getting chunky! I absolutely love every little roll and crease! She loves her big brother and laughs at him all day long!

Cruise and Cute Kids!

2010-03-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

Look at this adorable baby! She is so squishy and cute! She is rolling around occasionally, but she is very laid back and chill. I don't think she will be crawling anytime soon because she seems content to just lay around and watch Max act like a maniac. She is a VERY happy baby. It doesn't take much to make her smile. She loves food and her biter biscuits right now. We love her so much and so does her big brother!
Here are some pictures from the short cruise Mike and I took last week. It was awesome! We saw a ton of dolphins and sea lions and we even saw a bald eagle! Nothing makes a vacation better than seeing wildlife!
Here we are right before we saw our first dolphin in Catalina. The dolphins were so playful and we even saw three mommas and their babies!
You know how I love my sleep, and since I haven't been able to sleep too well over the past 8 months Mike and I slept most of the time, which made it the best cruise ever!
We got a shake the other night when we got home and Max loved his strawberry shake in his very own bowl!
Max always relaxes with his hands behind his head like this. It's so cute and grownup.
Grandma Julie sent Max these little pamphlets about animals and Max wants to read them every day. Here he is reading all about the Great White Shark. He is dressed in his Buzz Lightyear costume that we got at Disneyland.
Mike got his old helmet out for Max so he could complete his Buzz costume.
Here are Buzz and Woody, I'm either Jessie or Bo Peep, depending on whether or not Gracie is awake. She is usually Bo Peep! Max always tells me we are going to get married when he is pretending to be Buzz and I'm Jessie. He says "We are going to get married in the temple, so we should hold hands!"

Max absolutely loves Gracie. He really is an awesome big brother and he was telling Gracie all about the animals!

I am super smart mom...

2010-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post all these cute pics. We have been busy lately, but we love it. At the end of this month we are going to DISNEYLAND!!! We can't wait.

Gracie is loving solids. She is ravenous! She grabs the spoon right out of my hand every time! She was such a mess tonight, and Daisy wouldn't get away so Gracie kept grabbing her hair. Now Daisy is covered in plums and oatmeal.
Max just loves his little sis. We are so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy and happy kids!
Max thinks he is hilarious. He is always calling people stinkers and teasing everyone he can. Today at church someone stopped by to say hello and as they were walking away he said, "Hey wait a second I want to tell you something, I need to tell you all about my toys!" He is very friendly and wants attention all the time.
Mike and Zac wanted to kill me for letting Max dress up like a girl, but I thought it was funny. He is always pretending to be someone else. He was pretending to be Gracie on this particular night.

Max loves reading with his new Tag Reader that Grandma Kim got him. Gracie just loves watching Max do anything and everything!
Max also enjoys playing tug o' war with Daisy. I tell him it will ruin his teeth but he can't resist.
My sweet little Gracie. She is so happy all of the time. She is the best little babe and makes us so happy, especially Max.

This picture looks a little creepy, but it makes me laugh because Max has been quite the poser lately. If there's a camera around you can bet he'll be telling me to try and get a good shot of him. My little model.

Max is a great big brother and is always kissing and tickling Gracie. He loves it when he makes her laugh.
Max has been inventing a lot of things lately. This was his "Into the FUTURE machine," (Imagine him saying it with a lot of gusto and his arms up in the air).
Gracie is such a cute little stinker. She just had her 6 month visit and was 15 pounds 9 ounces. She is in the 50th percentile in height and weight and is officially bigger than Max was at the same age. Not to mention the fact that she was 8 weeks early!
Here is Max's robot machine friend. He just comes up with the most creative ideas lately and he tells me all the 'destructions'. This machine had a 'treat compartment'. Max was concerned that Daisy might bark at his new friend, but was pleased when she didn't.
Max loves taking pictures with his new camera. The other day we were talking and I told him he was such a cute boy and he said "I know, and I'm also super super super smart, I have a big brain and that makes me smart. I also invent a lot of awesome things...I'm awesome!"

I'm glad he is confident:)
This is Kate with Gracie. Kate is my good friend Michelle's baby and is only 3 weeks older than Gracie. She is also 4 pounds heavier. She is super cute!

Oops

2010-01-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

K- I am terrible. I did not take one picture during Christmas. We had an awesome time though and I want to remember some more funny things that Max has been saying. I know one day we will look back and giggle about these because they make me laugh right now!

Christmas Eve we were at the Kjar's. Max was pretty much the only kid there so he entertained us all the whole night. He got an awesome fireman outfit from Grandma and Grandpa and he loves it!
We made cookies for santa, reindeer food and wrote Santa an awesome note. He told me exactly what to write and it said something like this....

Dear Santa,
Max is on the nice list. Ho HO HO Merry Christmas! Tell Buddy (my personal elf) hi. Tell him to make sure I am on the nice list. Merry Christmas!
Love Max

Christmas morning was so fun. His little face lit up with every present, minus the ones he opened for Grace:) Later that night we headed down to SF where we got to talk to uncle Ben on the phone. Max tried to show Ben his new toys through the phone. We had an awesome time and we are so grateful for our families that make every holiday so much fun.

Max is such a little pretender. He is always pretending to be a dragon, pirate, fireman, doctor, football player or a cowboy. He used to love his superman cape and now he has a lot more outfits to pretend with! He also got an awesome BYU uniform with his name on it from Dave and Julie. He is a very spoiled boy. He got everything he asked for including; buzz lightyear, woody, mr. potato head, a dinosaur, a pirate ship, a nerf gun, tag books from my mom which he likes to 'read to himself' and he also really enjoys all of Gracie's toys too. She is also very spoiled. She got a lot of toys that she won't be able to enjoy for a few more months, but she does like watching Max while he enjoys them.

Ok, so here are the latest funny things Max has been saying.

While we were at my mom and dad's my dad was teasing Max and telling him not to drink the diet coke, Max kept asking why and my dad kept telling him it wasn't good for him. Finally, Max was exasperated and said "What? Does it have alcohol in it?" We were all laughing so hard! I'm glad some of the things I tell him have sunk in:)

Then last night we were eating dinner and Max just looked and me and Mike and said "What the hell are we eating? I really like it!" Of course he got in trouble but we were trying not to laugh. When I tried to explain why we don't say hell, he told us he heard it in a show somewhere, he can't remember which one. So, I think we will be turning off the t.v.

Mike gave Max our old camera since my parents got us an awesome new one, I thought I would add a few of his snapshots.

His Toy story friends. Waiting to be shot by the nerf gun.
Dad was sticking these to Gracie's forehead and Max thought it was hilarious!
A ton of Daisy. He kept saying "hold still Daisy!"
He told me to make a sad face. He was totally directing me like a fashion photographer.
A lot of dad shooting the gun at the t.v. Max's new favorite pass time.
And Gracie in her bumbo! I love these pics. It's a little look at life through Max's eyes.

Gracie's 1st Halloween.

2009-12-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

Better late than never right? I just realized I never posted a picture of my cute little Gracie at Halloween!! I'm a terrible mother. So here is the cute little pink cheetah (I think). She is such a cutie and growing super fast!

I love you, but I just can't marry you!

2009-12-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Our pictures are so dark lately, but Max ate a push pop the other night, and we couldn't get over how blue his little lips were!

We have been really busy around here lately. Most of our weekends have been spent up in Spanish Fork building Lisa a playhouse for her birthday and teaching Andie a dance solo. I have been preparing for our Christmas recital for PPA and I can't wait until it's over! I am so nervous for some reason, and I'm not even the one that has to perform! We only had two months to get ready for our performance and I hope they will all do awesome tomorrow. Luckily, I have Andie and Lisa to perform a couple of numbers for me, that way it looks like I have more students! I'm really hoping more people sign up soon.

Max, Mike and I all set up the Christmas tree on Sunday, and the Christmas spirit is thriving at our house! Max is pretending to be Santa and telling me he doesn't need to write a letter to Santa, because HE is the REAL SANTA! He also keeps re-arranging the Christmas tree. He told me it just didn't look right so he was going to have to fix it!

We went to Wingers for dinner tonight and while we were there he said, "I just love you guys mom and dad, but I'm not going to marry you!" We started laughing and told him he didn't have to marry us, and he kept saying it again and again, "I just can't marry you guys! Sorry, I don't know why, I just can't!"

Probably her last bath in the sink.

Gracie had her 4 month check-up a few weeks ago, and is in the 10th percentile all around, which is great! That's not even factoring in her adjusted age! Max was also in the 10th percentile at her age for weight, but was in the 50th for height, so he looked a lot skinnier! People always tell me she looks small, and I know that she is, but she looks huge to me! She is 3 times as big as she was when she was born, and is already wearing 3-6 month clothes. She is a very spoiled baby, and demands to be held all of the time, but she is happy about 80% of the time. She is super smiley lately, and Max really loves her. He loves to hold her and say "Goochie Goochie GOO!"

I just feel so blessed to have such an awesome family. Mike is so great to help with everything around the house (when he's home), Max is hilarious, and Gracie is just so perfect considering everything that she went through! I'm grateful for our cute little house and our awesome neighbors, and I am so happy I am finally singing and dancing again. I only work 3 hours a week and I bring in a tiny bit of extra money for our family. I love it!

What can I say, life doesn't get much better than this! We are so blessed. That might make some people gag, but I don't care:)

Here are some pictures of Max decorating our Christmas Tree and setting up the nativity!Notice his hat is completely covering his eyes, but that won't stop him! And I look so happy:)
Max set up the nativity all by himself and it looked perfect! He was so proud! He kept telling me to look at the the "Jesus baby."

All Things Thrifty!

2009-12-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

Please check out my sister-in-laws blog this week! They are giving away some awesome prizes in efforts to get their name out there.

www.Allthingsthrifty.com

A day of laughs and a big scare!

2009-11-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Max is so hilarious lately! I just wanted to write down some of the funny things he said the last couple of days.

We were driving in to Spanish Fork and Max was pointing out everything on the side of the road when he saw a big blue port-a-potty. He asked me what it was and I told him, after he processed it for a minute he said, "That just doesn't seem right mom, that's just freakin' weird!"

He also really seems to like Gracie a lot lately. We visited my Grandma Bev and Max was afraid we were going to leave her there. He kept saying, "She's our baby, she's not yours, we need to bring her home with us," All while he was pulling on Gracie, trying to physically take her off of Grandma's lap. He said the same thing to my mom when we were trying to leave Spanish Fork today.

Then today, as we were leaving Spanish Fork he was trying to help Mike carry Gracie in her carrier. He looked at Mike and said, "Wow, this is one heavy baby!"

A few minutes later he asked my mom to hop in the back with Daisy and come home with us, when she said she couldn't he replied, "Oh, sure you can!"

In the car Gracie starting screaming (as usual), and apparently Max couldn't handle it anymore, so he said, "Mom, can't you just calm her down or something? Do you need to come back here and feed her? You should come feed her mom."

I am so grateful for his curious little mind, his crazy cool dance moves and his cuddles! He really is a great boy and he makes us laugh all day long. He is so creative and is not shy at all! And to top it off he is completely potty trained! He never has accidents and he wakes up to go in the middle of the night. It's awesome!

Shifting gears, on the way home tonight, in between Nephi and Mona, there was a car traveling the wrong way on I-15 southbound. It was in the left lane and we were in the right. Luckily, we noticed it in time and were able to avoid it, unfortunately the car behind us didn't and swerved and rolled at least 6 times. It was awful!
I am so thankful that our family was safe. It just reminds me how blessed we are. We travel all of the time and we haven't had any accidents. I hope that the family that wrecked can recover. I wish I knew how they were doing, and I wish I knew if they caught the psycho that was driving the wrong way! He was going super fast and I don't think he even stopped when the car rolled. It was terrible and I can't get the image out of my mind. It just makes me want to squeeze my kids even harder! I'm so grateful for my family and our blessings!!!

Oh my Gosh!!!

2009-11-07T20:06:00.000-08:00

I can't handle it, this girl is just too cute! I love the way these pictures turned out! Thanks Brooke! You can check out her photography blog here.

This one is my favorite. Isn't her little dress beautiful? My sweet mom bought it for her!

Max the Great!

2009-11-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

Max has finally decided that he doesn't need baby diapers anymore! Two days ago, while I was changing a poopy diaper, he told me he wanted his big boy undies and he hasn't gone back since! We have only had a few small accidents since then and I think he is pretty much done. I'm so glad I waited and just let him decide to do it on his own. He can do it all alone and I don't have to help him with his pants or ask him if he needs to go a million times a day. He is so stubborn that he didn't do well with that. He is such a good boy, and is so excited about his new Spiderman book bag that he got for using the big boy potty! WE ARE SO HAPPY!!! Hopefully we won't have many set backs!
Here is my sweet little Gracie. Her cheeks are getting so squishy. She is such a sweetie, and is almost 4 months old! Where has the time gone! She still wakes up every 3 hours at night, and loves to be held constantly, but we love to snuggle around here so it's working out pretty good for us. Max loves his little sister and gives her kisses and hugs occaisionally.
Brooke thought it would be fun to take some glamour shots of herself with my camera so I thought I would share them with you:) Beautiful!
Halloween was great this year. Max loved being a pirate and even gave himself a pirate name. Pirate Boogie Woogie Max! He is so creative and has a great imagination. He told me he was going on a bear hunt yesterday and continued on with a story of a bear caught in a tree in the middle of a viwwwage (village). The bear was chasing bees apparently.

Mas found his old glowworm the other day and decided it was his baby Gracie. He laid out a little wash cloth on the ground for her and was taking care of her like his mommy does.
His cute little pirate faces make me laugh! I love this little guy!

Gracie's blessing!

2009-10-17T19:59:00.001-07:00

Mike didn't know you had to flip these before you post them, if there is another way to do it, please let us know.

My cute little babe is starting to smile a lot lately. She is so fun to have around.Look at Gracie's expression here. She looks scared to death, like Max is going to drop her or something.
Grandma Bev and beautiful little Gracie on her blessing day, Oct. 11, 2009.

Mike's Dad Dave, Grandpa and Grandma Kjar, and Ty and Whitney.
Lisa and Max playing in Max's room. Max will never look at me, and Lisa wants me to take a million pics to capture every expression she can think of.
Mom, Cassie, Dad, Grandpa Ray, Andie and Zac. No one will smile for the camera! Thanks for the spirit finger Cass!
All the beautiful ladies that came to the blessing.
All the great men that participated in her blessing.

Gracie is exactly 3 months old today! I can't believe how fast time flies! She is still acting like a newborn and wakes up every 3 hours to eat (like clockwork). She is so cute and peaceful all the time, she is a great baby, despite her occasional fussiness. I feel really awful because I forgot to invite a lot of wonderful people to her blessing! There's no excuse for this, but we have been really busy lately. Mike just started recruiting again, and classes just started for my new performing arts studio. I have been a LITTLE stressed lately. So I'm sorry if you didn't receive an invitation!

We have had a lot of fun challenges this year. This week Max and I experienced the SWINE FLU first hand, and Mikey was great to baby us all week long. Unfortunately, the congestion was too much for my little head to handle and my eardrum ruptured in the middle of the night a couple nights ago. That was fun! Now I can't hear that well and blood keeps dripping out of my ear. Sorry for the gruesome details! I also dropped my phone in the tub this week and few other monumental challenges also occurred. So, I guess Heavenly Father thought we were getting too complacent and wanted to test us a little bit, hopefully we passed. We are all on the mend and will hopefully be skipping around tomorrow!

It's funny how challenges seem to come in groups. When it rains, it pours, and although I love rain, I wouldn't mind a break. We are so blessed that Gracie and Mike didn't catch the flu and we hope things stay that way.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the update even though it was a little whiny. It's good to remember the bad times so we can realize how good we've got it the majority of the time... right!

More updates on little Gracie to come...

PPA gets featured in The Spectrum!

2009-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Our studio was featured in The Spectrum today! We are so excited, and have already had a few more students register this morning. Check out the article!

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090929/NEWS01/909290308/1002/Moms-to-teach-performing-arts

In other news, Max told us yesterday that he had an 'owee topper' on his foot. We couldn't figure out what he meant until he showed us a little scab on his ankle! Where does he come up with this stuff!

Skiing at Quail

2009-09-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

If you know my husband, you know he loves to ski! It's in his blood, and if we don't get out enough in the year he feels neglected. Since his job requires him to travel most of the summer, we end up doing most of our skiing in September and October (until we almost freeze to death on the lake!) Here are a few shots of us this last weekend. I steal all of these cute collages from sis-in-laws blog because she is the creative photo shop lady around here. Her cute kids and husband are on the top. Connelly tried skiing with his dad for the first time. It was so fun to watch him be so brave!
Here is our cute family. Gracie had her own little life jacket, and slept most of the time under the blanket. She loved the roar of the engine on the boat. It put her right to sleep and it was a nice day so she wasn't sweating to death. Max LOVED the boat. He is usually so nervous, but he has really grown up this year. He was so excited to wear the 'yellow jacket with the lizard' on Grandpa Dave's boat.

We were so proud of Max because he actually got in the water and tubed on his own for the first time without screaming for us to pull him in. When he saw all of his cousins jumping in he looked at me and said,
"This jacket will help me float right? I won't sink?" When I told him he would be fine he looked at me excitedly and said,
"Put me in!" He was so funny!

Then when it was time to tube he looked and Mike with the same expression on his face and asked
"Will you go super slow Dad?" Mike told him he would go slow and Max replied,
"Put me in!" He was so cute! You can see him flexing his muscles in the tube, and you can also see the leftover Oreo cookie on his squishy little cheeks. We love going to the lake with Brooke and Dan. Our family's get along so well and we are so happy we have them near by.

Here is Mike showing off his mad skills. He said this wasn't one of his best runs, but I still love watching him work up a sweat!

Platinum Performing Arts Center!

2009-09-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Oak and Con's Cakes:) and the latest!

2009-09-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm stealing Brooke's collage of these cakes! I loved making these for my cute niece and nephew last month! Max loved hanging out with his cousins and can't stop pretending to be a pirate!

This month has been fun! Mike is finally done with leaving town for a while, so we have him all to ourselves! Now we just need to find affordable activities for our family to enjoy together...any suggestions?

I'm also excited to announce that Michelle and I are opening a performing arts studio in Cedar City! We have been talking about FOREVER so we decided to finally 'man up' and do it! Stay tuned for more information!

Gracie is a great little baby and rarely cries. Max loves her, but ignores her most of the time! We also got a new stroller today! I am so excited about it! After testing out Brooke and Dan's and Liz and Jo's, we decided to go with the InStep Suburban Safari 2! We test drove it today and it runs like a champ!

Not much else to report, but busy times are coming my way!

Gracie's first photo shoot!

2009-08-31T22:09:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my baby is 7 weeks old, and her due date still has not come! She is a great baby, and rarely cries. She still eats every three hours, but sleeps most of the day. Max loves his 'tiny sister' and loves that he is a big brother now. He doesn't care too much about her, but when someone else is holding her, he makes sure to tell them that she is his baby and not theirs!

Gracie has been such a healthy baby, considering the fact that she was 7 1/2 weeks early. I am so grateful that everything went so well with her delivery. What a blessing! It still feels strange to think I have already had my 6-week checkup and she wouldn't have even been born yet.

Max is growing up so fast, he has a very active imagination and is constantly pretending to be some kind of animal, or volcano...random, but true. He is ALWAYS asking questions, which I love! He loves showing off for anyone who will pay attention, and if you don't pay attention he will let you know! He loves eating broccoli, pears, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches and any kind of treat! He is so good to help me around the house and always begs to help me clean and cook. He is very dramatic and if he wants something he let's you know. He will tell me he is 'so so so very, super thirsty... hungry... excited...' He loves his Lisa, Andie, and Connelly and talks about them all the time. He is a very good boy and we are so lucky to have him. He makes me laugh every day, and I love being his mom. I can't wait until I can tell what kind of personality Gracie has. She has a lot to live up to!

Short video of Gracie

2009-07-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a little clip from the camera phone. Gracie is still doing great. Gaining weight and eating and all that fun stuff. Thanks for all the prayers!

Introducing Gracie Kay Ulrich!

2009-07-21T22:29:00.001-07:00

.

Born July 17th @ 8:30 pm, she weighed 4 pounds and 3 ounces. She is sweet little piece of heaven. She has brown hair, a lot more hair than Max ever had, and was 17 inches long.

Okay, so here is the long story of her birth. I felt yucky all week, a little crampy and my back was a little sore, but I thought I had just been holding Max too much. Then on Friday, I woke up early and went to Michelle's house to make some crafts for her room. When I finished up I felt super gross, and told Michelle I felt like an old lady cause my body was just achy. When I got home I realized that I really hadn't felt her move for a while so I starting doing kick counts. The doctor said I should feel the baby move at least 10 times in 2 hours. After about a half hour I started panicking because I had just eaten and she was usually so active. Finally, after a few intense contractions and still no movement I decided I had to go to the hospital. I dropped Max off at Michelle and Jake's and luckily Michelle came with me to the hospital.

When we got there they hooked me up to the monitors and told me she looked fine. I still didn't feel good about going home though, because I still hadn't felt her move and her heart rate was dropping every once in a while. I was also feeling contractions, but the monitor wasn't picking it up. The nurse kept assuring me that her heart rate looked good, but said she would call the doctor and let him know what was going on. The doctor ordered an ultrasound, and after 30 minutes there and trying to get her moving with no success, they sent me back to labor and delivery. I still wasn't too worried, or considering that they might deliver the baby, but I think that's cause Michelle was trying to distract me! Good job Michelle!

When we got back to Labor and Delivery the doctor was on the phone with a pediatric specialist at Primary Children's and he told my doctor they should deliver her based on the ultrasound. Apparently, she only got 2 out 10 points for her health. It was a whirlwind after that! Mike showed up right after I found out I had to deliver. They threw some clothes at him and rushed me back for surgery. It was crazy! Thanks to the big lunch I had I threw up the whole time they were delivering her and I didn't notice they had even begun when I heard her crying. I was so worried. They didn't show her to me or say anything...and I had to wait two hours before they rolled her into my room for 30 seconds.

Luckily, she has done extremely well since then and is already off oxygen and should be out of her isolette soon. She just started gaining weight and the nurse says she just needs to learn to eat now. She has already latched on a few times and has nursed really well about 5 times. Right now we are just letting her have her rest because she is a little jaundiced, and the doctor said it was best just to let her sleep that off before we try to stress her out and make her breastfeed.

I am so thankful for her sweet spirit and can't wait until Max gets to meet her tomorrow. What a crazy weekend! We are so grateful for our families and for all of their support. We hope she can grow up big and strong and come home soon!

Mini vacation.

2009-07-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

I don't have any cool pictures to share because I didn't bring my memory card on our vacation, but I wanted to remember all the fun stuff we did last week so this will just be a short post.

Last week, Mike had to work in Idaho so Max and I tagged along. We went to Rexburg on Tuesday and met up with Liz and Jo and their little family. Liz and I took the kids to the park a couple of times, and Max finally decided that he likes to go down the slide at the park. It was fun to see him finally run around and enjoy the playground for once.

We also went to Bear World! I love Bear World. I have been there a few times but it's more fun now that Max can enjoy it with me. It's a little park right outside of Rexburg that you can drive your car through and see bears, elk, wolves, buffalo and moose. They also have a little petting zoo and free kiddie rides. Max loved it, and so did Mike and I. He kept asking me to go back to see the bears the next couple of days.

After Mike was done in Rexburg we drove an hour and a half to Jackson Hole. It was a beautiful drive and Max didn't ask to watch a movie for the entire drive. I think he liked seeing all the tractors. When we got to Jackson we found our hotel which was super cute and right next to the mountain. If I wasn't pregnant there would have been a lot more things for us to do. It was the perfect temperature for a big pregnant lady and I was in heaven. We went to Ripley's Believe It or Not and Max was loving it. He wanted to see everything and he was asking a ton of questions. Then we went back to hotel and swam for an hour. Max loves to swim 'like a boat' and kick his legs in the water, but he refuses to put his head in the water, which is fine for now. Later that night we went back downtown and watched a gun fight in town square and then went to the Playhouse to see Grease. We had a great time. I think my favorite part was
the beautiful scenery and the wonderful weather!

We got home on Sunday, but Mike already had to turn around and get back to Logan, and then on to Idaho tomorrow. Hopefully, he can take a break from traveling soon so we can get the baby's room painted! I also have a few other chores for us to do before the baby gets here. I miss him, but I'm grateful that he's working so hard for our little family! He is a great husband and father and we are super lucky to have him when he is home!

Next week we are all heading back to Spanish Fork to hang out with my dad before he moves to Iowa. I am going to miss him too! I know I'm an old woman now, but I love being close enough to see my parents as much as I do right now, and Max loves his Grandpa Mike. My dad is such a good example to us. He has always worked so hard for our family, and we have always gotten everything we needed and almost everything we ever wanted. He has such a great personality, and everyone that meets him likes him. He can tease with the best of them, and Max can take a lot of harrassment because of him! I love my dad and I am going to miss him! I hope he can find a new job after a year and come back to Utah!

Only 8 more weeks until my due date, and we are getting really excited! I am nervous, but I know we can do it but it seems like forever since we have had a new born. It's one of those things that makes you nervous and really excited. Well, that's about it for now! I'm sure I will have a lot to post about in the coming weeks!

Brad and Kenzie's wedding.

2009-06-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

Lisa is so cute! She is always posing for the camera. Supermodel in training.

The cakes... They took a lot of time, but I was happy with the way they turned out. I was also grateful that they made it all the way from Spanish Fork to Logan. I was super worried about that.
German chocolate grroms cake.
The happy couple. I love weddings.
Zac, Lisa and Cassie. Waiting for the happy couple to arrive.
Max and Grandpa Mike.
Max was teasing Mally. He kept trying to lick her.

Fun in SF!

2009-06-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Not much to say here, just wanted to post some cute pictures of the kids from last week!

Max and Lisa had a fun time playing in the rain last week. The rain puddles went up to Max's knees! He was using his new cowboy hat to catch the rain.
Cute little stinkers!
We also went to the aquarium last week. The kids loved touching the stingrays!

3 years old!

2009-06-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Max celebrated his 3rd birthday on June 15th! He had two great days of celebration. These pictures are out of order, but I'm too lazy to try to fix them right now. Max was excited about every present he got. I absolutely loved watching every moment! What a cute boy!
We got Max a pinata for his birthday party with his little buddies. He was smacking it to death and every other kid seemed confused. It was hilarious!
All Max really wanted for his birthday was a Buzz Lightyear and Woody cake. He loved his cake! He kept saying, "Mom, can I just have a teeny tiny bite!"
We made strawberry cupcakes for his birthday party. He is such a slow eater that every other kid was done about 10 minutes before he was!
Mikey and Carson sporting their pirate patches. We played the fishing game and the kids all seemed to enjoy their prizes!
Here he is trying to smack the candy out of the pinata.
We also went to Chuck-E-Cheese on his birthday with the grandparents, but I didn't get any pics. He was scared of the singing characters at first. I think he was nervous because it was so loud in there! He got over it though...

Max got so many great gifts from everyone, he was very spoiled! Now he keeps saying, "When is my next birthday?"

Camping Time!

2009-06-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

Mike had some time off this week so we decided to take Max camping up Cedar Canyon Campground. We had a great time! Here the boys are enjoying some delicious dutch oven potatoes!
Here is our lovely camp site. We were really close to a cute little stream, and Max loved throwing the rocks in the river!
Here is our tent. I know I look lovely, but Max looks cute making 'Spiderman hands' and shooting his daddy with webs.
Here they are drawing in the dirt. Max loved everything about camping and kept telling us "I really love camping! I love to go in camping guys!"

He constantly refers to Mike and me as 'you guys!'
This is the little stream. It was right behind our tent so we could hear it all night long. Luckily, we were really close the the bathroom. Being pregnant and camping doesn't mix unless the bathroom is nearby. You don't realize how much you use it until you don't have the comforts of home!
Mike bought Max this cute little camping chair. He was very 'cintin' (excited) that it was 'just his size.' He is seriously the cutest kid ever, I'm not biased at all either!
His face was like this the entire time we were camping. We went on a 'chikmunk' hunt and saw a squirrel that was nice enough to let us stare at him for a long time. Max loved it, and since his birthday is getting close he kept telling us that the "chikmunks were having a party with cake and a pinata." He also made me sing them happy birthday a million times!

We love it when Mike is home and we can have fun adventures!

Summer update.

2009-05-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Cassie's b-day cake! Happy Birthday Cassie!

We haven't posted lately because we have been spending a lot of time in Spanish Fork with my family. Mike has been traveling all over the country helping his teams, so instead of staying home alone, I crash at my parents house. Mike was supposed to come home yesterday, but decided to go to Boston and North Carolina this week instead. He has been gone for almost two weeks and we are missing him, but having a great time here.

This week both Cassie and I celebrated our birthdays. I am 27 now and she is 24. Wow, time really flies when you're having fun... I watched an old high school cheer video last week, and it just made me giggle. I thought I was so mature then. It was fun to reminisce.

Max has been running around like a maniac since we have been here and has been consistently sleeping in until 11 or 11:30 every day... I'm not kidding. He still goes to bed at 8:30 or 9, but he must be getting really worn out. I keep checking on him to make sure that he is alive.

I just realized that being pregnant isn't really all that fun. My heartburn has been kicking in a lot more, and my poor little feet are starting to feel swollen. Pregnancy does not suite me, I'm not a cute little skinny pregnant lady, and I'd like to avoid seeing anyone until it's over:) Ok, so I'm a little dramatic, but that's how I'm feeling right now. I am excited for the babe though. Only 15 more weeks. Sounds like a long time, but I'm thinking it will go by quickly with all of Mike's business trips and my trips up here.

That's pretty much it. A random assortment of details, I know:) I am random by nature!

Pool Party!

2009-04-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Mike and I bought Max this cute little pool yesterday and, although the water was freezing, Max and his friend Mikey dove in and played until their little lips turned blue! I love the warm weather!

Look at my cute babe!

2009-04-18T18:45:00.001-07:00

My cute sister-in-law Brooke took these pics of Max for us yesterday. They turned out great! Thanks Brooke! You can find more pics here on her photography blog.

Private

2009-04-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

I feel like I need to go private. I have been getting some weird comments from people I don't know, and it just creeps me out a little. I have no idea who reads this, so leave me your e-mail if you want to check in on us every once in a while! Anyone we know is welcome!

Max was right!

2009-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maximo mo mo!

2009-03-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

Max is growing up so fast! I have to keep documenting his cute little sayings because I don't want to forget how much he makes us laugh! He is such a sweetie and he's really interested in the baby in mom's belly. Today we were talking about the baby and Max said,

"When the baby is born, Jesus will talk to her." It was so sweet. We still don't know if it's a girl, but Max only refers the baby as his sweetheart princess. We will find out next week, if I can get an appointment! We are really excited!

Max says he wants to name the baby "Baby Ayla." That is Chris and Staci's baby's name, so obviously we won't name the baby Ayla, but it makes us laugh because he hasn't even been around Ayla at all. She was a preemie, and just got home this week, so little cuties like Max can't be around her yet.

Every morning when Max wakes up he yells for us from his room and says,

"Mom, I'm not asleep anymore! It's a sunny day!"

When he says that it's a sunny day that usually means he's not tired and he doesn't want to take a nap. Our conversation usually goes like this.

Mom: "It's time for a nap Max."

Max: "But mom, it's a sunny day outside and I'm just happy. I'm not grumpy at all."

Mom: "Take a quick nap and when you wake up we can play with cars."

Max: "I'm not going to sleep at all, I'm just happy. Ok mom?"

He is so funny, and he remembers the funniest things. He will watch a movie one time and 3 months later he will start talking about specific parts that I don't even remember.

He can recognize all of the letters in the alphabet and knows thier sounds. He has known this since he was 2 thanks to Letter Factory!

He can count to 11.

He knows all of his colors, his favorites are blue, green and black and he reminds us all the time.

He knows his shapes and loves to cut out 'baby triangles.'

He likes to make up songs about whatever is going on at the time, and they usually consist of one word being repeated over and over again at different volumes.

He loves his cousins and aunts and grandparents, and he thinks we live with them because we are with them so much!

He loves to dress up in his superman cape and will only be refered to as 'Superman Max' whenever it is on. I have to wash it at least once a day lately!

He is such a sweet boy. We are so lucky to be his mom and dad!

Snow Day!

2009-03-07T13:11:00.001-08:00

It snowed like crazy last night! We decided to take advantage of the warm snow weather by building a 'Spartan Snowman'!

Baby #2!

2009-03-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that Baby Ulrich #2 is on the way. I'm almost 14 weeks and the morning sickness has finally left, for the most part! All this baby talk has sparked Max to say some really cute things! I have been really sick everyday, and lost 7 pounds in my first trimester from throwing up, sorry for the details! As I was bending over the toilet every day Max would try to comfort me by patting me on the back and saying,

"Good job Mommy! You made it in the toilet!"

"Oh Mom, I want to watch, is the baby coming out today?"

"Is everything o.k. in there Mom?"

"You still throwing up in there Mommy?"

After we told Max the news, we watched his baby videos, and a video from the night we left for the hospital to have Max! When he saw my belly in movie he said,

"Oh Mom, your tummy is huge, your tummy is still too tiny!"

He pats my belly every once in a while and says,

"It's still too tiny, it has to get bigger and bigger first!"

Then when we went to the doctor to hear the heartbeat on Tuesday Max said,

"Oh, that must be the baby's heartbeat, is the doctor going to take her out?"

Yes, he refers to the baby as his 'little sister' it's really funny! I teach nursery and Max was walking around with a camera saying,

"I'm taking pictures of my little sister!"

He also refers to the baby as a princess, and himself as a King! It will be funny if it's a little boy!

Those are really just a tiny fraction of the funny things he has been saying about the baby lately. It would take me all day to write them all down!

Here are some pics of Max with his princess/ sweetheart Daisy! He loves his puppies and tells me everyday! When we went to Disneyland we left them with Julie, when Max finally noticed they were gone he said,

"Mom, where are my puppies, we need to go get them!"

Ok, I know this is overload of funny things Max has been doing lately, but I know I will forget if I don't write them down. So here are a couple more funny things he has been doing lately.

He loves to put on his Superman cape and run around the house, catching the bad guys and saving his baby sister, he yells,

"I'm flying like the wind mom!"

And when he and his dad have sword fights Max says,

"I'm tougher than you think I am sister!"

He is always asking questions and he makes us laugh every day! I don't know where he gets half of the things he says!

Disneyland!

2009-03-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I convinced Mike that we needed a family vacation, so we used the money I made from helping the cheerleaders to go to Disneyland! It truly is the happiest place on earth. Max loved every minute of it, and so did Mike and I. We were there at a really good time, the lines were not very long and the weather was a wonderful 72 degrees in the day!

Max's favorite characters were in a parade at California Adventure, and we had a perfect spot to see them. Max was so excited that they stopped right in front of us!
Here are Mike and Max on the little rides at the Bug's Life part of the park. The lines were the longest here, and not the most exciting, but Max liked them a lot!
Here we are kicking up our feet with a little Subway! Got to love the 5-dollar foot long after a day of 8-dollar cheeseburgers in the park! Max got that cute little Buzz Lightyear gun after we went on Midtown Madness (a fun ride where you shoot things for points.) He wouldn't stop shooting it all night, and batteries went dead in a couple of hours! He loves that thing!
Here is Max watching the parade! You can see the anticipation on his face, Lightning was a few blocks down and Max couldn't wait!
Another Bug's Life ride at the end of a long day! Our feet were killing us by the end of each day!
Max's favorite part, too bad they only let you look at them for 20 seconds!

Max didn't know what to think of Pluto! This was the first character we waited to see, and decided it wasn't worth the wait, since Max preferred to watch from afar!

Overall, it was an awesome vacation, for a really good price! I didn't have any morning sickness while we were there and Max was a good boy the whole time. I would go back tomorrow!

What the ... who says that?!

2009-02-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, some strange things have happened to me at the grocery store lately. Today I was at the local grocery store, getting ready to check out and this man comes up behind me and says, "It's a good day not to die, isn't it?"

I'm sure I gave him the strangest look, and then I just responded, "yeah, of course it's a good day not to die."
It was the most odd thing I'd ever heard anyone say. Weird! Who say's that? Seriously... Now I'm wondering if I should have asked him if he had a brush with death or something. Then I was wondering if he was planning on killing me. It was very strange.

Now rewind a few months. I was at WalMart in Springville, I was by myself and I noticed this man looking at me in the store. I didn't think much about it, I just went about my business. Then, as i was loading my car up with a few groceries, the same man comes up to me and asks, "Do you want to be my friend?"

I thought he was trying to get some money out of me or something, so I responded, "Why do you want to be my friend? Do you need something?"

He said "No, I just want to be your friend."

I was so confused. I thought he would ask me for something if I said we could be friends. I just kept saying, "You must need something if you want to be my friend."

Finally, he said, "No, I just was wondering if you would like to be my friend, you know... like go to dinner with me... be my girlfriend."

I kind of laughed and said, "Well, sorry, I'm married."

He started to back up and began apologizing saying, "I didn't mean to scare you, I just saw you in there and wondered if we could be friends. Sorry, no disrespect, just sorry!" He walked away and I quickly got in my car and drove away.

Although it's nice to know the strange man found me attractive, it makes me wonder why these wierdo's keep approaching me. I must look like I'm a weirdo too...

I just had to write this down, strange. Seriously though, who asks someone out by saying, "will you be my friend?"

A Good Day!

2009-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on what's been going on lately. Chris and Staci had their sweet little baby today. It was a rough road for them... really long story, but after 6 long years of trials they finally have little Ayla Rose. She was 7 weeks early, but is healthy and beautiful! We are so happy for them. They are great examples of hard work and perseverance. We love them and hope they will get to enjoy their sweet new addition at home soon!

Also, although very trivial compared to the great news above, Cedar High took 1st place today at a USA cheer competition at Riverton! I was so excited for them. They are 3A and won two 5A teams and two 4A teams. It's been so fun helping with the cheerleaders! They really are awesome!

That's it... just wanted to do a quick post:)

Christmas Highlights!

2009-01-08T17:45:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas, of course these pictures are out of order a bit, but you get the picture. Here is Max with his 'poppa Dave' and cousin Connelly playing 'hungee hungee hippo.' They loved that game!

Here we are opening presents at Dave and Julie's house on Christmas Day. Everyone went to get their chair and Max came into the room with his booster seat. Of course he sat in the middle of the room since he thinks he's the center of attention everywhere he goes!

Every year we break open a pinata at my Grandma Bev's, this year was no exception! My parents made this sweet pinata with three pockets of pinata goodness. Max loved smacking it!
Of course I had to take my turn! Everyone kept teasing me, saying that I swing the bat like a cheerleader! That fired me up, and I smacked as good as I could!
Here' s Mike taking a whack at it! There's nothing better than taking your aggression out on poor Frosty the Snowman!
This was Christmas morning. Max got a doctor kit and was fixing everyone up!

More present opening and reading the letter from Santa.
Lisa and Max were so giddy on Christmas Eve they snuggled on Lisa's bean bag chair and enjoyed the Muppet Christmas Carol.
Andie, Max and Lisa made reindeer food and were strategically placing it outside for Rudolf! It was cute.

Max thinks it's still "almost Santa Clause time,' and I keep telling him it's already over. He doesn't understand why I'm taking down all of the Christmas decorations. Maybe next year it will make a little more sense. He loved all of his wonderful gifts and we loved watching him get excited about everything! Good times...

Kids say the darndest things

2008-12-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

I just had to write a few more things down. Max was sick last week, he was getting his big molars, and then ended up with some canker sores in his little mouth. It was tragic... anyway, a couple days ago he came up to me and said "mommy you made my mouth feel better, thank you so so much! You are a crazy woman!" It was so random, and cute all at the same time. I loved it.

Tonight we were watching a Christmas special on t.v. and a commercial for Jadore with Charlize Theron came. She was ripping off all of her jewelry and then she unzipped her dress. It showed her dress hitting the ground and Max said, "uh oh, mom she naked now. Her shirt fell off on to the floor!" He makes me giggle. What a little stinker. We better really pay attention to what we say around him now!

2008-12-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! We are very excited for the holiday's and so is Max! It's been so fun watching him this year. He wants to sing all of the Christmas songs a million times every night before bed, and he keeps saying "it's Santa time" instead of Christmas time. I keep trying to explain to him that we like to focus on Christ, but that's kind of hard to explain to a 2 1/2 year-old! He loved decorating the Christmas tree with Mom and Dad, and kept saying "right here? Okay mom! It's perfect!"

I wanted to write down some of the funny things he's been saying lately so I can embarrass him when he's older.

He thinks he's really funny lately and for some reason he thinks the words 'tomatoes' and 'eyeballs' are hilarious. Whenever I ask him a question he just responds with one of the aforementioned words and cracks himself up! He makes me laugh all of the time.

He also knows how to tease really well. He calls everyone by the wrong name on purpose and then giggles mischievously!

He really loves his puppies right now and snuggles them all the time. They chase him all over the house and attack him with kisses when he falls down, it's really precious. He also thinks it's o.k. to lick me all the time! It's really gross and he loves it when I react dramatically!

When people ask him how old he is he says "55!" Then after they give him 'the look' he says, "NO, I'm two, ha ha ha!"

I got called to nursery a few weeks ago and while I was handing out the snacks Max said "Mama, come sit by me." When I sat down he handed me one of his treats and said "here you go mama, you can have Max's treat!" I loved it!

He loves all of his cousins and aunts. He and Con played swords for hours and they really enjoy their cars and trains. He also loves his aunt Lisa (she's 6), she dresses him up and they play doctor, jump on the tramp and build tents. Lisa is the first person he calls for when we get to my mom and dad's house.

I could go on for days, but these are just some of the funny things he's been doing lately. I love that little stinker!

Let's Cruise Baby!

2008-11-30T20:06:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the picture overload, but I wanted to document our glorious cruise. It only took me all night to download these stinking pix!
Here we are trying to look elegant on our first formal night! My hair is so dark right now! Yuck!

That's our first port (Grand Turk) in the background, canceled due to windy conditions! My hair explains everything!

These beautiful pictures are from Puerto Rico! We hiked in the Yunque rain forest and the guys jumped into this beautiful waterfall. I'm a chicken, so I don't participate in these dangerous activities!
Here we are in sunny St. Thomas. We just hung out at a couple different beaches. It was very beautiful, but the beaches were crowded with crazy drunk people!

Mike celebrated his 27th birthday on the cruise. Jordon thought he would make it a special one by shoving his face in his cake. It was hilarious. He used both hands and I didn't think he would ever let him up for air!

Here we are at Half Moon Cay. Holland America owns this little island, it was my favorite port by far! The sand was like corn starch (seriously), and the water was crystal blue! I loved it! Someone found a crab and put it right by Mikey's head while he was taking a nap! It startled him a bit, but it was harmless!
This was my favorite part of the trip, coming home to "Superman Max!"

2008-11-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the pumpkins we carved at out brother and sister-in-laws annual pumpkin party. Go to Dan and Brooke's Blog to see the full collection.

Long Random Post!

2008-10-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Papa Lew! My awesome Dad just turned the big 5-0. I love him, he is a great Daddy and example to me! Love you Dad!

Okay, so this is going to be long, but I had a lot of cute pix to post, so brace yourself! We took the kids to the pumpkin festival this weekend and they had a lot of fun activities, starting with eating donuts off a string with no hands! They all did a great job, and we laughed our heads off!

Andie and Lisa got to do a lot of fun things at the festival, the decorated cookies, got temporary tattoos and face paint, decorated pumpkins, and went pumpkin bowling. We will definitely go next year!

Cedar City has a lot of random parades, this was the sheep parade, there were a lot of big trucks, some horses and; of course, some crazy sheep. ... Random, but fun!

Okay, new subject, this is Mike's brother Ty. He was playing the piano with Max and I just thought it was a really cute picture...

Also, just another cute pic of Max, I was trying to take some pictures of him for a fall photo contest but he wouldn't cooperate! He is screaming in all of the other pix from that day!

We got some Lightning McQueen undies for Max to maybe encourage him to want to use the big boy potty. They were huge on him, as you can see, and he kept telling us that they were Connelly's (his cousin.) When we asked him if he wanted to use the potty he said "I can't mom, I'm just a tiny baby!" I don't know where he got it, but he makes us laugh every day! It will be a while before we cross the potty training bridge!
This weekend we also did a little arts and crafts and Max discovered his love of "cuttin!"
Just another cute pic of the kids as they are trying to delay bedtime. They are all so cute together!
Cute little stinker!

Rockband!

2008-10-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

We love our new Rockband! Mike won a Wii from his company banquet, and since we already had one we decided to trade it in for Rockband. We jam out almost every night and have mastered some sweet skills! Jake and Michelle came over a couple weeks ago and we played for hours!
The kids were exhausted after we finally finished. They were delirious1 They are so cute when they get giggly!
Max loves to 'rock out' with us. He just screams into his little microphone the whole time!
Emmy was digging the drums! Jake was having a hard time controlling her. She is a little musician in the making!

Skiing at Quail

2008-10-02T13:32:00.001-07:00

This is my first time posting a blog, so if it doesn't come out right I'll blame it on Jessica. She didn't want to post pictures of her skiing so I'm going to do it instead. We've only been to the lake a couple of times this year but it is one of my biggest passions. So here's some photos of our good times.

I know it's been said that Max is the cutest kid but here is just a little reminder of how cool my boy is. He always says "Papa'a boat . . . so fun!" He loves being outdoors.

I liked the sun in the back of this picture.
The lake was so smooth. If only I could ski for hours like the good old high school days.
Look at the form. I love that Jessica will try anything and everything. She really is the coolest wife. Max kept saying mama's awesome! Go mom go! Everyone has to eat it now and again, and because she didn't want me to post pictures of her skiing I'll post these two pictures. I don't know what she's doing but I wouldn't call it skiing. She's a good sport. I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing this with everyone.This crash looked like it hurt but she got right on the tube and took another beating. She's feeling it today.Still smiling after all the abuse. Oaklyn loved swimming after a little persuasion to get in the lake.What kind of brother would I be if I didn't put a picture up for Dan. Not too bad for an old man. I don't know why there's a line under all the words half way through my post but Jess is at cheer practice so I'm on my own. Oh well. Maybe next year I'll get back on and do another post.

Camping!

2008-09-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

We went camping up Cedar Breaks last weekend and we had a blast. On the way up the puppies were just snuggling Max. It was so cute!
Look at my cute little boy! He loved seeing the fire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs and seeing the stars!
It got pretty cold while we were up there and although Max actually slept well, I was freezing most of the night and especially in the morning. Max looked at me and said "let's go home mama, it's sooo cold!"
My favorite part of the whole weekend came after we finished eating, Max looked up at me and said "Mom, you're awesome!" It melted my little heart. I love that kid!
Max loved exploring our little campground. He kept saying, "Mama, look at the big trees and trucks!" He loved that we brought grandpa's truck with us!

Shay and Brett's Wedding Cake

2008-09-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

For those of you who care, here is a pic of the cake I made this weekend. Many hours were spent on this cake. I hope the bride loved it! I don't think it will ever get easier, I am a stress case!

Back in Cedar!

2008-09-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

After changing our plans 50 billion times (I know I'm dramatic) we are back in Cedar City in our town home. Hopefully for a year or so! I won't be ready to move for a really long time! I'm sick of packing and unpacking, we have moved over 15 times since we've been married! Crazy! Mike is still working for living scriptures as a regional manager. Now he will be in charge of recruiting out of SUU rather than USU. So, it was really a blessing that we didn't sell our house when we tried to last year. We would have been in a pickle!

We are loving Cedar. We have made friends with our neighbors and Max has a lot of new little buddies. The picture above is his best buddy Mikey. They live right next door and everyday Max bangs on their screen door and yells for him to come and play. I love watching them play, it's so funny! Max is trying to tackle Mikey here. They are actually really good at sharing and always swap their toy cars.

Mike is loving his vacation. We just joined Gold's Gym so we can get in shape. Mike goes with his buddies in the early morning and I go at 10 with Michelle. Hopefully we will start seeing results soon! I have been sore everyday since we joined!

I have been keeping myself busy as assistant cheer coach for Cedar High. It's been fun to get out of the house for a couple hours a day. Teenagers are really moody! I laugh at them everyday, because they remind me of myself 10 years ago! Sorry mom and dad! I have also been making more cakes. I have a five tier wedding cake due next weekend. It's going to be really awesome, and time consuming!

So, that's about it for us. We love being back in our cozy little house with cool fall weather and not blistering heat!

My little man!

2008-07-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Our friend Holly took these pictures of Max yesterday. He was really happy, but we couldn't get him to hold still when he was smiling and laughing. I think he still looks so cute, even with his serious face!

All about Max!

2008-07-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Full Name: Max Michael Ulrich (after my dad and husband- both Mikey's)
Age: 2 years 1 month 2 days old
Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese (a.k.a cheese) , any type of fruit, broccoli, Juice, Sandwiches (fousey's), Fruit leather (snack), and chips (pits)!
Favorite toys: Lightning McQueen and Mater, anything with wheels, or anything he can drive his
cars on!
Favorite activities: Little Gym, Summer Movie Club, painting, hanging out with his daddy or Emri!
Least favorite activities: Swimming Lessons, going to bed, and getting his bum changed!
Funny expressions: In hungee (I'm hungry), Paweese (please), Dank You Momma (Thank you), Max's room, Mike (he calls his daddy by his first name?) Cool truck, Big Truck, Look Momma, Queen-Mater, Come on Mater, Come on Queen, Saweet (sweet), Moonie (movie), Day Day (Daisy)!
Things mommy loves about Max: He is the sweetest, most polite little guy! He makes me laugh everyday, and I can't imagine my life without him. He is always examining his cars and making me help him fix them. Max will repeat things over and over and over again until someone repeats it back to him correctly! He is very dramatic, and has the funniest facial expressions. People always tell me that he should have his own variety show. He's very good at showing off for new people and always has to be the center of attention. He is a handsome little dude, and we love him so much!

Adventures at the Little Gym!He is always scared to let go. His little scream is so cute and frustrating all at the same time.
He is getting better at the beam, but his favorite activity is running around in circles on the mat and saying, "I'm fast momma, I'm fast!"
His very favorite activity at Little gym is the bubbles! "Bubbas, Bubbas, OOOh, Mama, OOh!"
Here he is jumping and running around with Mikey!

Remember when...

2008-07-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

I've seen this on too many friends blog to not put it on my own, so here it goes. Hopefully you can humor me...

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

MONSOON!

2008-07-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here in Arizona they kept talking about some elusive monsoon season we were supposedly in. Mike and I were laughing about how they thought a few drips of rain were a monsoon. Then it happened. Last night we got over 2 1/2 inches in about an hour. That doesn't sound like much, but it closed down the road outside of our apartment complex, and Mike almost couldn't get home last night. It also completely flooded the underpass. We watched a guy on his motorcycle try to sneak past the police and go through the closed underpass; big mistake, the water was up to his knees when his bike stalled and he wasn't even in the deepest area! So, we were wrong, this really is monsoon season. It's cool! Here are some pictures of our parking lot, and one of Max for good measure. When Mike went to get in the shower he wanted to take his clothes off like Daddy! He just loves Mikey, it's so cute!

A diversion from the routine!

2008-07-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

We had a fun 4th of July weekend! Mike's parents came to visit us in the hot Arizona sun. We started the week off with a fun trip to Rawhide. It's an old cowboy town where they have a lot of fun activities for cowboy wannabes! We went on a stage coach ride and were planning on eating at the saloon, but they had a two hour wait, and we weren't willing to wait it out so we went to Lone Star Steakhouse instead.Max is enjoying the small animals at the petting zoo at Rawhide. They had a little pony, chickens and goats and he really seemed to like it!
The next day we went to Sedonna and Jerome. They are small little towns about an hour north of us. Jerome is an old mining town built into the side of the mountain, it was pretty sweet. They have a lot of interesting history there. We also stopped at Tuzigoot Indian ruins outside of Cottonwood. Here we are on the top of a little community where the Indians lived in 1400 ad.
Grandpa Dave did a great job entertaining Max in the back seat. Max was laughing his head off the entire trip!
He was also very entertained by Grandma Julie. She bought him Lightning McQueen and Mater cars and they also kept him entertained the entire weekend.
Here is Max in front of the beautiful Sedonna view. He is sitting on a "big wok!" When did he grow up?Finally, here is Max with his new toys. He will never be bored again. He constantly makes them say "Hi Queen," "Hi Ma-er " to each other. They chase each other around the house, crash into each other and then Max asks them if they are "k?" He fixes them up with his tools and then says "sowwy queen!"

We are alive!

2008-06-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here are my cute boys, notice the lovely camping chairs behind Mike. That's how we roll, high class!
This will be quite a long post considering I have to catch up for the last month. A lot has happened; unfortunately, all but 2 of the 12 people on Mike's team either quit, got fired, or switched to alarms. Who knows what's going on! The economy maybe, or maybe the fact that it's consistently been 110 degrees or higher almost all summer. We also had a pretty rough time when I found out I had my 3rd miscarriage! It's o.k. though. I kind of knew something wasn't right, so I was prepared. Anyway, we are alive and chugging along. The summer is halfway over for us which is really a relief.
It was my birthday on May 24th and Mike took me to Carrabbas, one of my favorite Italian restaurants! Then we went to Indiana Jones after! It was a really fun night with my cute hubby. He works six days a week, and basically 12 hours a day during the summers, so I really appreciate any alone time we get!

Max got this tool set for his big birthday. He loved all the power tools and almost ran the batteries down on the first day. He also got his cute outfit from grandma Kjar. It has Lightning McQueen on it. He is absolutely obsessed with Cars. Whenever he sees his outfit he begs me to put it on, or tries to put it on himself. I love it. This kid is all boy!
This summer we have been SOOOO lucky to have friends near by. Holly and Jason Lang are here for Pharmacy school and only live about 15 minutes away from us. They have a sweet little girl named Emri and Max just loves her. He literally tackles her and kisses her every time we see them. We are with them most days of the week.
The kids play together so well! They share, chase each other around and play make-believe in Emri's kitchen. It is so fun to see. We also take them to a movie once a week, and have them both signed up for Little Gym. Max isn't sure if he loves it yet, but it's really nice to have something to do!
Yes, Max sleeps in the closet. We are really living in style! We got him this cute air mattress at Ikea. It fits perfectly into our walk-in-closet. He couldn't be happier, he made the transition out of his crib without any problems! Sometimes at night though, he will sneak out of the closet and snuggle up to Mikey on our lovely air mattress. It's way too cute. He totally misses his daddy during the day!
This is probably the most pathetic cake I have ever made, but I was too exhausted to do anything more. Max and I just got back from UT the day before his birthday, pretty late at night. I felt pretty embarrassed to post pics, but I figure it's the thought that counts right!?

Well, we are really excited for the future, and whatever it holds for our family. I am just praying we can finally settle in a cute house with a nice big yard. I hate living in the concrete jungle. I want Max to be able to make mud pies and get dirty. Which isn't really possible here since it's so hot! Anyway, I will try and get better at posting. Next week Dave and Julie are coming for a visit and we are really excited to break out of our normal schedule!

We made it!

2008-05-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday and we are finally settled and rested. On Thursday afternoon we started our drive, it wasn't a long drive, but Max just happened to get sick before we left and threw up at least 7 times. We had to stop every hour to clean him up. I felt so bad for him. We were in the middle of nowhere so it wasn't like we could stop, and I couldn't cuddle him. Then when we finally got here we had to unpack and Max just started feeling better today, so he has been really needy.
Today was great though, we went to Holly's for dinner and Max had a great time with his new friends. I am pretty excited about this summer. I know it's going to be a blast. I love new adventures!

FOR RENT

2008-05-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

After almost 9 months on the market our house has not sold yet! It has been a little frustrating. The prices keep dropping and we're at the point where we know it probably won't sell, unless we give it away! The market is just not where it needs to be! So last night we decided we are going to try and rent it. We are asking $800 a month. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths and we are leaving the washer and dryer. If you know anyone that would be interested please let me know! We are crossing our fingers!

Welcome home baby Chloe!

2008-04-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

I made this cake for Liz's new baby Chloe. She is a beautiful baby, her parents are very lucky!

2008-04-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe it, but in a week and a half we are going to be in these lovely apartments in Phoenix , AZ. I am actually really excited. Mike's girlfriend from high school lives there, and we are going to hang out all the time. It will be much better than North Carolina, and I even had a blast there! We expect to come back to Utah very tan!

Crazy Cake!

2008-04-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

PLEASE don't look too close, but here is my latest cake creation. I made this for Michelle's daughter Emmy. She got tubes in her ears today. Hopefully, it will brighten her day! It was fun to play around with the bright colors!

The Wii

2008-04-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Mike's brother Dan and his family came over for dinner last night, and we all decided the kids would love to play the Wii. Oaklyn was totally into it. Her face says it all. We were laughing SO hard! She was running in the game, and her arms were swinging back and forth so fast! She was so sad when she didn't win, she wanted to keep playing until she did.
Here's another pic. This is such a good pic to demonstrate the different personalities of the kids. Oaklyn is very sassy, and as you can see, competitive. Connelly and Max are very laid back kids. It was so fun watching them play.
After a while Max got into to. He is screaming "GO, GO!" I love it!
Max was exhausted by the time they left. He didn't complain when we finally put him down.

A weekend in St. George!

2008-04-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Last week Andie had a dance competition in St. George so me and my mom went to watch. Max was so excited to see her. He kept hugging and kissing her. He copied everything she was doing from the time she walked in the door. Andie is so good with him and she's just getting to the age where she wants to babysit. She's not old enough, of course, but I do let her change his diaper occasionally; don't worry, she begs me to do it!
Here's my cute Andie, the one with her arms out, at Dixie State College. Her team took 1st place for their lyrical dance and 4th for their jazz routine. I was so proud of her. She is already a great dancer, and she's only 9!
This was right before the awards. She made me rip her fake lashes off because they were "driving her crazy!" Look at her big luscious lips! Isn't she a babe!
When we got back to Cedar City Max was still in his P.J's because his dad was in charge! We bought some little dinosaurs that grow when you put them in the water. He was very thrilled to have them. What a great family I have!

Tagged!

2008-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

HUBBY TAG!!!

What is his name: Mike
How long have you been married: 4 1/2 years!
How old is he? 26
Who eats more? Mike for sure. I do enjoy eating though, a little too much:)
Who said I love you first? He did. It didn't take long for him to realize how awesome I was ;)
Who is taller? He is.
Who sings better? Me, he rarely sings though, so maybe he's awesome and I don't know.
Who is smarter? Well, I've always had a higher GPA, but he's very smart.
Whose temper is worse? Well, that depends. Neither of us really have one, unless it's 3 am and Max has been screaming for a long time, or if the dogs won't stop barking in the middle of the night:0
Who does the laundry? Me, I don't think Mike has ever completed the entire process by himself. Sometimes he helps out though.
Who does the dishes? If Mike is home, I can usually convince him to do them, I HATE doing dishes. I hate touching the yucky food, it makes me want to gag!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Mike
Who cooks dinner? We usually fight over who gets to make it. We love cooking together.
Who drives when you are together? He does, but I like to drive sometimes, and when I do he panics the whole time. Mike's dad always drove, so I guess Mike and his brothers think that's the way it should be done.
Who is more stubborn? Me. I was born to argue.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Of course, I always feel like it's me. Mike would disagree.
Whose parents do you see the most? I see mine a lot more right now, because Mike is always gone for work. I always have him drop me off at their house so Max can play with Andie and Lisa. We try to keep it equal when we're actually together though.
Who has more friends? Mike, because of Living Scriptures. I am totally anti-social. I have a few friends, but I usually don't go out of my way to make more. Although, I am trying to break out of the norm and make more friends lately. Blogging seems to be helping my plight!
Who has more siblings? Me, I have 3 sisters, and 2 brothers. I am the oldest:0
Who wears the pants in the family? Brooke and Liz told me once they thought I did, but I'm going to have to say Mike does. I guess, because he controls the money. He is very frugal unless he finds something that HE wants:) I love him though, and I let him know when I think he's being a butt-cheeser!

Love you Mikey! I tag my highschool buddies- Christy, Ashley, Heidy and Joni

2008-04-18T14:33:00.002-07:00

I took the quiz after my sisters-in-law's did:0 I wasn't expecting Pocahontas either!

2008-04-18T14:33:00.001-07:00

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

The 5K! We look like idiots:)

2008-04-11T12:33:00.001-07:00

I am laughing so hard right now. Cassie just sent me these pics and she begged me not to put the second one on, but I have to save it for her posterity. Every time I see it I have to wipe the tears away. This is at the very end of the race. It was fun and, in case you didn't notice, I beat Cassie with a quick sprint at the end:)
My sister is beautiful, she is my best friend. We talk every day, and we constantly harass each other. I love you a ton my Sassy little Cassie!

The tale of Max's first lost tooth!

2008-04-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

The night before the tragedy...What a happy little family, on our way to St. George for a little shopping at Costco and a nice dinner at Ruby River. Little did we know what would happen the next morning...
Here is the sad story; A few weeks ago, the day after Max got his cast off, he was playing by our elliptical and lost his balance (because his leg was so weak.) His face smashed into the machine, it skinned his gums, and bled all over the place. I couldn't see the damage until a few days later when I noticed that there was hole in his gum above his tooth. I could see the root of the tooth and everything. Then this morning , I gave Max this empty box to play with and he decided to try and jump over it. Somehow he managed to trip on it and hit his face on the corner of the box which caused his tooth to pop out. Again, there was blood everywhere.

Here is the sad little tooth.
Not the best pic, but here we are at the dentist after Max's tooth popped out this morning. I was a mess, crying hysterically before we left , so I opted out of a group pic. On the way to the dentist's office Mike tried to 'lighten the mood' by calling me a zit queen. I have a huge bump on my nose so he thought it would make me laugh if he called me Rudolph. Really funny... ha ha... I didn't have a chance to put makeup on before we left so that was just the thing I wanted to hear at that moment. Thanks babe! ;)
Long story short, Max won't have a tooth there until he's around 11 or 12 years old. The dentist said that it could cause damage to his permanent teeth if he tried to put it back in. I promise we don't abuse our child, although I know it's starting to look that way after all of our accidents lately. Having your own child get hurt is the worst thing in the world. I wish I could protect him from everything that could hurt him, but obviously I can't. I'm sure I'll laugh about this in the future, but as of today, I'm still traumatized!

A week of first's!

2008-04-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Max and I had a great week at Grandma and Grandpa's while Mike made his regular trip to Logan and Idaho for the week. We always have fun with Lisa and Andie, I get a break and Max gains two new buddies for the week! I also had fun with Cassie, we jogged our first 5k, and although we didn't break any records, we felt good about how we did. She had to run it for extra credit in a class and somehow I got roped into it too. We both hate to run so we felt it was a great accomplishment.

Also, this last weekend, Mike took me snowboarding. I had never been before so, needless to say, there were a lot of crashes, but it was really fun. Mike said I did really well for a beginner, but he has to say that, because he's my husband and he knows how competitive I am!

He looks so mischievous here! He got the cool shades I'm wearing from my mom for Easter. They open up and he loves putting them on me and opening and closing them over and over and over again. He was being so cute. He kept grabbing my cheeks and saying "Hello!"
Can you see the terror on poor Emmy's face? Max got to have his little girlfriend with us this week while her mommy was in China. He would not stop chasing her around the house. Most of the time he was trying to kiss her or hug her, but there were times that he was trying to tackle her or smack her with the bat. Good thing I was supervising! I think he was traumatized because she kept calling me mama! Every time she would call me that, he would point his finger at her and say "NO MAMA!" He wanted to make sure she knew I was HIS mama. It was really fun for me to see them play (when they were playing nicely!) It also made me re-think having another child though. Two kids are hard work!

Easter Weekend!

2008-03-24T11:26:00.001-07:00

Max loves his Aunt Lisa. He is trying to tickle her in this picture. This weekend we were watching Enchanted and in the middle of the movie Max charged at Lisa and we thought he was going to head butt her, but it was so sweet when he grabbed her cheeks and gave her a big smooch! They have so much fun together. He follows he everywhere.

We had a great Easter weekend. Max was kind of grumpy when he woke up, because he stayed up late with grandma and grandpa, but once he discovered that there were jelly beans in his easter eggs, he was very excited to find them all. As soon as he would find one, he would rip it open and shove as many of the jelly beans in his mouth as possible. He has a handful in his mouth in this picture!Max loved his Elmo basket and his Elmo book. He loves Sesame Street right now:0 My mom got him these glasses and he was striking lots of strange poses with them on.
I love seeing my family and spending quality time with them. This weekend Cassie and I are going to run a 5k. I know it's not much, but considering how much I hate running it will be an accomplishment. I hope I can convince her to go to Ikea and Steve and Barry's after!

2008-03-17T08:49:00.001-07:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
45
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Family Fun

2008-03-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

Andie gave this cute little bunny to Max, he was carrying it everywhere. It sings "If you're happy and you know it" and then it claps it's ears.
We had a great weekend, and I got quality snuggle time. Andie (my little sister) came to visit and we did a lot of fun girly things. Then on Sunday the rest of my family came to see Max's cast.
We are all really wierd:)

Money, money, money!

2008-03-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

Money is just getting thrown down the tube this week. Daisy has a terrible ear infection and it cost 65 dollars for us to get the drops! It's ridiculous. Oh well, that's life.

Sad, long day

2008-03-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, Dr. Dowse was wrong when he said that Max's leg wasn't broken on friday. Saturday morning he called to let me know that the radiologist found a small fracture in his left leg, so today, after three hours of waiting, Max got a bright blue cast put on. It is very large and akward and very depressing to watch him try to get around. He was a trooper though. He is a very good boy!

Daisy's new Do

2008-03-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

Daisy got a haircut today. We think she looks just like her dog cousin Roxy. Except she is much smaller and not red:0 She and Rocky love chasing each other around the house, they also love tackling Max and barking at strangers. Training a puppy is not something I would suggest to anyone. It's not fun cleaning up after them... Obviously. She is very fun to snuggle with though. We are excited for her to grow into a big dog like Rocky, and we hope she acts just like him. He is the perfect dog. Thanks Nicki!

A great sunny day that ended tragically

2008-02-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day. Max and I took a lot of walks in the warm weather, and he did not want to get out of the stroller. He kept climbing back in and saying "GO GO!" We even took a trip to Park Discovery with Michelle and Emmy. When Max saw the slides and the swings he started squealing with excitment.

Unfortunately, the day ended with a trip to the hospital. Max and I decided to go down the "big boy slide," he was on my lap and all was well until his foot got caught and twisted his little knee. I wouldn't have been worried, but he wouldn't stand on it.

After an 3 hours of waiting and 1 x-ray later, we found it was just a sprain, but nonetheless, it was very depressing. Even before I put him to bed tonight, he wouldn't put any weight on it. What a cute little stinker. I feel so bad.

The Cake that took a week of my life.

2008-02-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

I just started a cake decorating business called Sugar Baby Cakes. This was my first full-size fondant cake. It was fun and stressfull. Max was practically neglected for a week because it took so long to make. When I left the cake, it almost felt like I was leaving my baby, knowing I would never see it again. Dramatic... I know. I've always been a drama queen:)

My first blog.

2008-02-28T07:06:00.001-08:00

After being threatened by Michelle, and Brooke and Dan I have finally decided to start a blog. I felt the pressure to conform, what can I say? I am weak.

Life is great for our little family right now. We have one little boy named Max. That's him on the left. The cutie on the right is my little sister Lisa. They had a great time a few weeks ago. They played on the patio for hours. It was so much fun for all of us.
We also have two dogs. Rocky, a four-year-old shih tzu, and Daisy, a 7-month-old malshi (shih tzu and maltese mix). They are all a hand full.