Monson

my baby, the now one year old...

2012-02-09T16:57:00.001-07:00

my handsome guy

Your big day started out as every other day. We waited for daddy to get home from his early early morning shift, made some birthday pancakes, one of your favorites for breakfast. After playing with some toys we decided that it was time for your first, yes first, haircut! Two firsts on one day! Your hair had gotten really long, but is so fine and blond that you couldn't really tell, but it was driving your mom crazy! You didn't cry but kept ducking when dad would put the clippers on your head. Now your hair looks very cute!

daddy cutting your hair

sitting by your birthday cupcakes

cute balloons, obviously we've got a farm theme going on

the masterpieces, the chicks were my favorite

with gigi, the only person i got a pic of him with :(

opening presents

with all his gifts: a book, a hat, a ball, tub toys, a baby bullet, and a bag of clothes

i know what your thinking, a baby bullet for a one year old. let me explain this kid has a gag reflex like no other. one chunk of something that is in a smooth food like, stage 3 foods, and you're going to get a gag followed by a giant barf! he does fine with finger foods if he doesn't shove too many pieces in his mouth, so we are working on textures!

happy birthday to you

the cake, he ate the whole cupcake, couldn't have been more happier. did i mention he's a little piggy?

the sister, her day is coming soon

our family picture. after everyone left i noticed we didn't actually get a picture of all of us, hello timer.

it was a nice day, a fun party, thanks everyone for coming! and i'm so very very grateful that you did not barf in your crib after your birthday party, like your sister!

onto other happenings before sawyer's birthday....

okay i'm slow at posting this stuff!

sawyer is 11 months! we celebrated with an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. he loved it!

okay so i wanted to write about him turning 11 months because he grew up during his ten month old span (if that makes sense). I swear he just started to do everything in that one month and i don't want to forget it. here's the list:
* gave up rolling, moved to army crawl
* gave up army crawl, started real crawling and fast
* started pulling up on everything
*figured out how to climb the stairs
*claps
*waves bye-bye
*dancing like no other, to EVERYTHING, including my terrible pitchy singing
*says uh-oh
*gives high-fives
*gave up his bottle at 11 months, drinks from a cup! big boy!
and now i'm not sure if that was it, hello, should have done this a month ago!

onto the most exciting news...

this little girl is finally potty trained!!! whoo hoo! she did awesome, which i knew she would if she just tried! makes my life a lot easier! we are going on three weeks now of panties! and isn't she just adorable!

you'll be hearing from us soon, since it is birthday month...next stop v-day, and then Charly turns 3 (gasp)

the days to follow...

2012-01-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Christmas goes by so fast, but now we have been enjoying the calm. Sawyers been sick this week and so was I yesterday. Now that we're on the mend I can catch up. here's just a couple pics of things to follow Christmas and i wanted to post all the blankets I made....

i was busy sewing, here's my hard work!

the kids blankets

Stacie & Maria's blanket

my mom and dad's blankets

charly sledding the day after christmas

boompa pulled her behind the tractor and she didn't even get scared!

Sawyer playing with toys the day after Christmas!


This picture is to show Charly's new haircut she gave herself on the 23rd. she took some good chops off in front so she's got spikey spots and really short bang pieces.

Since the weather's so mild she got to test out her trike outside!

she's pretty good, just needs to get that steering thing down.

that's our after Christmas report. we had a great holiday season hope you did too!

christmas day...

2012-01-02T14:32:00.002-07:00

this was our first Christmas morning to spend at our own home. It was so much fun! The kids loved opening presents and playing with their toys! We got up at about 5:45, i know you're thinking that's early, but i didn't sleep well, and then Sawyer woke up then and I just thought what the heck lets get a going! After daddy went down to turn on the Christmas tree lights and make sure santa had come, we all got to run downstairs and see! i think Charly like Sawyers toys just as much as hers, but it was a fabulous morning followed by waffles for breakfast!

Sayer Christmas morning. Santa brought him: The Lion King movie, a new snow hat, the B. zany zoo cube, some cars, balls, jammies, an outfit, sippy cups and a book.


Dad opening his gift from Santa. Rip 60 so we can get ripped in 60 days. (today was day one of rip 60 and i wanted to puke and pass out at the same time!) Santa also brought him a beaver mountain day pass and some cocoa.

This was sawyers favorite thing to play with Christmas morning!

Charly opening gifts. Santa brought her: an easel, chutes and ladders, the tickle monster book (SO FUN), Winnie the Pooh movie, a dress, an outfit, and a nerf dart gun.

mom Christmas morning. Santa brought me some new toe rings, some pomade for my hair, and some cute shorts!

she told me her new barbie was her favorite present!

Sawyer opening his new blanket mommy made him!

what in the cotton candy maker. it's rad!

Charly opening the blanket that mommy made her too!

she loved it, thank heavens!

not very many pictures of Corey, he had the camera!

my rad new purple running shoes!

this was Charly just after she jumped up and shouted, "it's a bike!!!"

Charly cruising on her sweet new TRIKE!

ok, now the boring part, i've got to record or try to record what everyone got!

Sawyer: clothes, drum filled with instruments, remote control car for babies, blocks, little cars, car dash, helicopter, phone, jammies, blanket from mom, blanket from grandma, stuffed polar bear and a farm.

Charly: rapunzel doll to fix her hair, trike, barbie volkswagon, baby barbies with elephant, puzzles, critter clinic, jammies, magic moon dough, lace up cards, lacing beads, a magnadoodle, blanket from mom, blanket from grandma, clothes and a stuffed panda.

Brandy: Toms Shoes, Reebok shoes, Boots, shirts, pants, clothes pin picture frame, rachael ray bubble and brown dishes, purse, foot spa stuff, sub to food network magazine, hat/scarf/gloves, snowflake necklace, beads from italy, cotton candy maker, the Holiday, pocket knife and a Bose docking station.

Corey: Brown dress shoes, gray sunuks, shirts, warm up pants, basketball shorts, Heat Wave book, The girl who played with Fire book, Harry Potter Series on Bluray, Down Vest, sub to field and stream mag, bullets, hiking saw, water filter for camping, a pocket knife, scarf, gift cards to Cabellas and Harbor Freight and a Gloc40.

I seriously think that's it, we were all so spoiled!

So after all the present opening and breakfast, we got ready and packed. Went to see the Monson's and open our gifts there. Watch Corey's dad open his new gun from all the kids and Stacie told us her and Carl are expecting another baby in July. How exciting! It was a quick visit because they were headed to church and we were headed to Bear Lake to visit my family.

So first we stopped to see my grandma for a while and then finally went to relax with the fam. That's when my dad gave us more presents and our pocket knives of course. And we finally let them open our presents from us. Which i took no pictures of :( maybe they did! We ate a fabulous dinner of prime rib, potatoes, sweet potatoes and pie! Played some fun games (guesstures and bananagrams) and then went to bed! too bad Sawyer sleeps like garbage over there! And that's our Christmas day in a wrap for anyone who is still reading, since this post is FOREVER long!

christmas eve 2011...

2012-01-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning of Christmas Eve at our house trying to get all four of us ready. that can take some time! i'd been wanting to take some pictures in front of our tree and the pretty twinkling lights (that picture on previous post) so i made everyone sit for some timed pictures. they actually turned out pretty good, couldn't get Sawyer to smile though!
Then we went over to the Monson's for our annual Christmas Eve party. we had such a great time eating yummy food and visiting with each other. the kids had so much fun, they got to open a toy and pajamas from grandma and grandpa. and then we all sang Christmas songs while the kids chimed bells!
When the party was over we came back home to open one more gift for Christmas Eve, and then put the kids to bed. It was early but neither had napped that day, so they were ready for some sleep! We put out cookies and milk for Santa, read our new book and went to sleep!

Christmas Eve Night

opening their Christmas Eve gift

a new Christmas book! super cute one by the way!

2011-12-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve 2011

holiday shoot....

2011-12-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

click HERE to see more of this cutie and his sister......

the kids, an update...

2011-11-29T20:30:00.002-07:00

CHARLY

seriously this girl is a crack up! can't get enough of her sometimes, and wanna pull my hair out others! she's just busy, always has been, i'm sure always will be! so she's always getting into something, pushing her brother down, taking his toys away, and sassing me around! right now she's really obsessed with making sure sawyer does NOT touch any of her toys. if he does she says, "he doesn't want to play with that!" and therefore its ok to take it away from him. or she says, "it's too small, sawyer will choke on it!" okay that one is my fault because she tends to throw everything on the floor so i have to get after her about it! things she loves, movies, and movie! playing with grandmas and grandpas! eating pie! playing abc games on the computer! the snow! the christmas decor! shooting dart guns with boompa! watching dancing with the stars with me and then danging with her puppy dog around the room! i swear i could probably go on and on about her! she is such a sweet girl, super smart, very much full of life and always leaves us with smiles on our faces!

and yes, her dimples are deep!

oh ya, she also doesn't like to smile normal!


sawyer adores his sister, he looks at her with complete adoration! we are in trouble then!

SAWYER

9 months, 19 lbs. 1 oz., 27 1/3 inches

has this kid gained a personality since the last time i wrote anything about him! i can't believe he is 9 months old! my time flies! sawyer has got a little temper that just erupted recently! he was so mellow, and still can be at times, but others he just throws tiny little fits! just like his sister used to! oh great i really am in trouble! he doesn't crawl, can't quite get the mechanics down for that one, but he rolls and rolls and rolls wherever he wants to go! and he's fast! sawyer has a hook finger (i'll have to post a pic of that another time) that he reaches out to touch anything! it's hilarious! he also has 7 teeth as of today. three on top, four on bottom, and he's got another on the way! teeth really screw up his sleeping! lately we haven't been getting any! however, sawyer is a joy! he is always smiling a cheesy grin our way and laughing with his sister! it's been so fun to watch him grow and learn! next stop, 1st birthday, cue the tears now!

he's one solid boy!

all things halloween...

2011-11-03T14:31:00.000-06:00

my skeletons dressed up when we first got their costume/jammies

masquerade party at the neighbors

we look totally different with the same mask

then we tried on this sweet mask


and carved pumpkins at our annual monson carving party the face is charly's, snow white is mine, and mike wazowski is coreys

my spooky skeleton who let me paint her face twice that day!

and the two cuties! i wasn't even going to attempt to paint sawyers face!

what a fun holiday we had! lots of treats, parties, friends and family time! charly loved halloween this year and trick or treating!

doubles...

2011-11-01T19:51:00.000-06:00

for more of this sweetness click HERE....

pumpkin walk...

2011-10-27T16:33:00.001-06:00

this was our first year going to the pumpkin walk. of course corey wanted to go hunting instead of going so my mother came with! it was sooo cute! here were our favorite parts!

dispicable me...it looks just like those girls!

one of my mom's favorites...guilligans island

bambi

tangled...even my favorite scene

charly loved the waterfall, the water came out of the pumpkins mouth

OUR MOST FAV PART...

apparently woody and buzz are a little sleepy

what a cute harry potter you make mother

wild thing...fits her well!

so cute he is!

how can you resist putting a cute baby in one of these things?

cinderelli, i feel like her sometimes!

ariel

seriously so cute! we will be going back next year!

6 years...

2011-10-20T14:18:00.000-06:00

an all things wedding post

i'm sorry i think we pretty much look like babies in these photos!

baby L...

2011-10-05T21:51:00.000-06:00

what a beautiful baby boy, congrats Danielle!

would you like to see MORE...yes you do...click HERE

our end of summer...

2011-10-03T16:51:00.000-06:00

yes i am counting last weekend as summer. it is starting to feel more like fall and that's okay, but i will miss summer! we have a book titled "Summer" by Alice Low at the lake house. i read it to charly this weekend and got sad thinking that we won't be able to enjoy all the things that summer brings anymore. however, each season has something that it brings to the table so we will be happy as we move into fall, then winter, then spring, until next summer!

the ditch at grandma & grandpa johnsons i spent a lot of time here growing up!

my handsome boy with gigi!

i think charly liked it as much as i did at her age. anything she can throw rocks into makes her day!

two kids pooped out, i took this picture because i think they look so much alike (looks and sleeping positions)

bubble baths together, i couldn't snap a cute picture of them both before my camera died

too dang cute!

great grandma j holding sawyer for the first time. we've visited many times, but she never felt strong enough to hold this big chunk until last weekend!

i had to get a picture of chuck playing with the toys at great grandma j's. funny thing is those are my pots and pans she's playing with. toys sure have come along way since i was a kid!

the lake was perfect for canoeing! corey and i took a lovely row and then charly wanted a ride too! corey said she was much less scared than i was. it seriously feels like your going to tip right over!

wagon rides. charly's decided it's okay if sawyer rides with her.

our nature walk on the first day of fall, we even saw a snake!

one of my favorite pics of charly this summer. oh she loves her goggles!

my beach babies...

2011-08-23T15:01:00.000-06:00


Charly Monson, 2 1/2 years old, Bear Lake, UTah

check out that model pose

matchy matchy, too cute!

Sawyer Monson, 6 months old, Bear Lake, Utah

what a sweetie!

every year we must update our bear lake pictures. our back wall in our family houses these pictures and right now corey and i have one, and charly has two. it's time sawyer made the bear lake wall!

sawyer, six months new...

2011-08-06T21:09:00.000-06:00

have you ever tried to take a self portrait of 4 people? this is what it looks like!

i just decided to snap these photos today after we got home from lagoon, not before relaxing a while. sawyer is actually six months old TODAY! i can't believe how fast it's gone! sawyer is one of the smiliest babies you will ever meet! as long as he's got your eyes on him, he's going to give you a show of sweet smiles! he rarely fusses! he sleeps so great, even if he wakes up in the middle of the night he just coos or lays absolutely silently in his crib until he falls back to sleep! he just got his first tooth yesterday (bottom right) and the one next to it is not far behind. he's got a mega flat head on back, but we're working on it everyday! he rolls on occasion from belly to back, and is so close from back to belly. and he now has a new obsession with his toes (as you can see in these photos) loves holding them while chatting up a storm! we're so in love with this little bubba! dr. appt. on monday will give us his stats!

lagoon....it's what fun is...

2011-08-06T20:09:00.000-06:00

Charly's first ride at Lagoon, with cousin Angela! Drive that boat. She was so sad I couldn't go with her she wanted to get out, but then I got her to stay if Angela came aboard. Then she wasn't afraid of anything!

The Helicopters. So brave to go all by herself!

Waiting for the cars

At the end of the cars ride. Charly didn't want to be done, so when the lady got her out, she ran to go get in another car! Too funny!

Her favorite ride, the AIRPLANES! She was so cute, still couldn't figure out how to make it fly up and down though!

Somehow we talked her into going on puffs dragon, or whatever it's called. Let's just say she screamed the whole time with her head down!

Then I think she was so traumatized by the dragon rid that she would not go on the carousel. I went by myself :(

Such good sports riding in the stroller almost all day!


Just before we went home! All of us worn out!

The funny thing is that Corey and I went on two whole rides together, Bombora and The White Roller Coaster. Bombora was too quick, however, the white never ever ever disappoints! After that Corey felt nautious, so we couldn't go on anymore rides! My how things change once you become parents! Thanks Monson's for inviting us along, it will be such a memorable trip!

the summer's slipping away...

2011-07-26T11:29:00.007-06:00

we're behind. surprise, surprise. here's a recap of all the fun things we've been doing....

FIRST HAIRCUT

before

after

PLENTY OF BEAR LAKE

cute new bike mom

hyrum fireworks
(yep I cut my hair also)

chillest baby ever

eating cereal

FACE PAINTING

so pretty, thanks grandma lindsay!

SPLASH PAD

MORE BEAR LAKE

first boat ride

MONSON FAMILY VISITS US AT BEAR LAKE

NEW SWING

what a view

i guess this sums up our lives as of late. we're just soaking in that summer sun, hoping it won't slip away before we know it!

oh and p.s. if anyone who reads this knows and wants to tell me how to make my pictures bigger than this, please oh, please do in a comment! thanks!

more of my kids...

2011-06-02T22:21:00.005-06:00

CHARLY...

SAWYER...

i'm not quite finished with my own kids, plus we need to get family pictures taken...so i guess i'm saying you'll be seeing more of these cute faces in a little while! but who wouldn't want to look at them?

my little cutie...

2011-05-29T22:23:00.001-06:00

all grown up...

2011-05-26T14:20:00.003-06:00

here's some new photos of this little cutie......however she's not so little anymore! see more of her HERE!

sawyer's special day...

2011-05-02T21:25:00.003-06:00

well there's my two boys. aren't the handsome. i must say that sunday was a special day. sawyer was given his name, Sawyer Roberts Monson, and a blessing. corey did such a great job with this blessing. i know our Heavenly Father has wonderful things in store for this little guy and we get to be his parents! we had a great day spent with family and friends. unfortunately i put the wrong address down on my facebook invitation, leading quite a few people to the wrong church. subsequently they missed the blessing entirely. i feel awful about it, but am grateful they came for sawyer's special day and at least got to eat!

Easter 2011...

2011-05-02T20:06:00.007-06:00

oh easter. growing up i remember easter being such a fun day. couldn't wait to hunt for easter eggs with my brothers. i'm thinking charly is going to be the exact same way. easter was a week ago and she still continues to ask to hunt for eggs everyday! i have to keep reminding her that easter is over, however boompa tells her easter can be every day. i can't say she's the fastest hunter, but she's thorough that's for sure!

easter morning hunting for eggs at our house

the easter bunny brought her golf clubs

coloring eggs

(notice how every sticker she's peeled off is on her hand)

smiley mcgee...my word this is one HAPPY baby

(one of my new fav pictures...story time...oh how she loves it)

yes she's hunting for sticks as well...another love of hers

WOW getting a decent family photo of four is challenging

once again ALL smiles!

now as a parent i look forward to seeing my kids faces light up on easter morning. everytime charly found an egg she'd say, "oooh, i found it". and then she'd grin from ear to ear, and put the egg in her basket. i look forward to coloring eggs, even if i'm worried charly will spill dye everywhere. and i look forward to the easter dresses and easter feasts....wow i'm a boring adult!

one month gone...

2011-03-14T16:23:00.003-06:00

sawyer at one month...i cant get this guy to smile at all! this is the closest i got that day. my best chance is right before he drifts off to sleep, then i can see his huge dimples!
things we've learned about sawyer thus far...
* loves to sleep
* has a love hate relationship with his binkie
* likes the swing (thank goodness, i'd get nothing done)
* has a few nicknames, toad, t-rex, and bud
* loves his bath, totally relaxing

look how big he's gotten

i swear he's charlys twin
9insert comparison pic here), it's crazy how much he reminds me of her as a baby!

********

other happenings...

first bath, in the sink, found out he was too big

first bath by me, only he was soooo sleepy. i could barely keep him from nodding off into the water!

oh yeah, he loves my pillow, bad i know!

just wanted to show full chub in detail!

p.s. charly's a good big sis. for the most part she doesn't bug the little guy. but she says cute things like..."hey bud", "sawyer cryin", "what you doin bud?" i really think they'll be buds when he gets older!

sawyer...

2011-02-27T13:33:00.002-07:00

His Story

Sawyer is three weeks old today. I need to tell his story and all the details before I completely forget!

At my last doctors appointment I was deeply disappointed to find out that I again was still dilated to a 1 1/2 and 60 - 70% effaced. Why doesn't my body know how to go into labor. So my doctor who had planned on starting me on the 6th of Feb. was hesitant to do so. He felt like I hadn't "turned the corner" on this pregnancy and that maybe I wasn't ready. I know he knew I was disappointed and told me that if I absolutely couldn't make it another week, he would schedule the induction for Sunday the 6th. I told him I could probably handle it, I wasn't miserable yet. But he did want me to make an appearance into labor and delivery that day anyway. He was on call that weekend and said that if I had changed any he'd let me stay to be induced. So that whole weekend I felt awful! Couldn't sleep, so uncomfortable, belly as tight as a rock most of the time. Saturday night we went out to dinner to celebrate us possibly having a baby the next day. We were hoping and crossing our fingers. Well later that night I got a text from my mom saying my dad had fallen walking back from the aggie game and broke his ankle. They were due for surgery the next morning. So I decided that I wouldn't go in on Sunday because things would just be too complicated and I could wait. My dad wouldn't have it. He didn't want to ruin things, so after going to see him Sunday morning before surgery, we went and checked into labor and delivery at about 10:00 am.
They were pretty slow getting me in and hooked up, and my nurse was not hopeful that i'd be staying either since I told her of my 1 1/2 dilation. When she finally checked me at 10:30 I found out I was a small 3! What!!! I was ecstatic! I would be staying! So the nurse called Dr. Noorda and told him the news, he said I could stay and he'd see me later. Another doctor was already up there so she broke my water at 11:00. Things were starting to roll on. After IV and Pitocin I was getting some steady contractions. My mom kept bouncing between my dad's room and mine, and we all just waited! I got my epidural at 1:00 pm and that was a relief....contractions are painful! I never felt any that intense with Charly! So I was feeling good, trying to relax. At about 3:00 my nurse came back in to check me, I was a 5. Oh great, I swear they said it would be faster than last time, it wasn't looking that way. She just said that she was going to start preparing the room for delivery and to let her know if I started feeling any pressure. Pretty much right after that I was feeling quite a bit of pressure. I hate that feeling almost as much as contractions. SO UNCOMFORTABLE! She at 3:40 she checked me again and I was a 10 and he was ready to come on out! YAY! She called the doc, everything was ready, he came in and got dressed, reminded me how to push and we got a going. Four pushes later Sawyer was born at 4:08 pm. It was awesomely short and soooooo easy! I can't complain one bit! We love having him here now and can't imagine life without him in our now family of 4!

snow day...

2011-02-27T13:22:00.004-07:00

Charly's now two...and yesterday was her first day in the snow. I know, slightly deprived. I debated about even letting her go out because we got all new snow clothes stuff for her for Christmas and we hadn't used it yet, so I almost took it all back. But then I decided that this was something she needed to do before she was three! She had so much fun. Not so much at first, but once we got playing she didn't want to stop. I bet she played for a good three hours outside. First with me, we went sledding down to uncle Cody's house and then started the snowman. Then Corey took the second shift where they or should I say he finished the snowman and started building a fort with her sand bucket. I never would have thought of that, genius! Most of all I think she just liked eating the freshly fallen snow! It ended up being a fabulous morning, I got to feel normal again, and we all got a break from being inside!

and she turns 2...

2011-02-20T13:43:00.006-07:00

Where has the time gone? It seriously seems like yesterday I was planning her first birthday, or better yet having her! My has she grown up in the past year! Can you believe the difference? Don't get me wrong she's the same old Charly, just so big! Fun things we love about Charly right now...
* She's miss personality! I hope her brother is as fun and spunky as she is! It makes everyday super interesting!
* She's a gabber! Some of my favorite things that she says are, "fork and spoon", "perfeck", "lub you", "please thank you welcome", "excuse me", and pretty much she'll repeat most things we say. don't worry she does speak in real sentences, it's just when she says these things its super cute!
* She loves stories, her favorites being... Each Peach Pear Plum, The Goodnight Book, and Bad Dog Marley.
* Favorite food...cereal, pancakes, sauce, berries, peas & carrots, corn
* Loves movies! Pretty much she'll watch anything now! And she talks about all the characters like they are her pals!
* Loves to play tea party and color with mom and dad!
She's just too fun right now, I never want her to grow up, but obviously that's not going to happen!

Party #1

For lunch the Roberts' gang came down for a little party, complete with gifts, arby's and a woody & buzz cake. A little girls dream, right? Well she loved her first little party. Got a my little pony, some outfits and jewelry!

Family Party

When Corey got home from work we had our own little family party with more present opening. Here she is in all her cheesy glory opening....

"tato" head

playin' elefun with daddy

sawyer chillin

Party #3

Later in the evening Grandma Lindsay and Stacie came over for another mini party. Boy was Charly spoiled! She got a sit and spin (opening below) and some cute outfits, plus a cash register to go with all her fun stuff from Christmas!

meet....

2011-02-11T12:32:00.002-07:00

Sawyer R. Monson
Feb. 6 , 2011 @ 4:08 pm
7 lbs. 5 oz. 19 in.

(pictures to follow very out of order)

Christmas 2010...

2011-01-03T13:19:00.005-07:00

The Christmas we will never forget....oh wait I swear I said that about last years! This year was way different though. We were looking forward to having a small Christmas morning with just our little family. We knew it would be different but were excited about this new family tradition. So after getting everything pretty much ready, we woke up the Monday before Christmas to a flooded basement. Yes, it was a super awesome early Christmas present. Since that was where we were going to spend our Christmas, we had to make many adjustments, and somehow it just didn't really feel like Christmas at all this year!
Christmas morning we woke up early and went up to the Roberts' to do presents, and luckily santa found us there! My whole family was there and so it was still a very fun Christmas. Charly didn't care about opening presents after she had scored a kitchen to cook at, a very cute set of table and chairs, and of course her Jessie doll! We pretty much had to bribe her to open up the rest. But we were all very blessed with awesome family and friends this year who helped us a ton and who were very giving this year!
In between presents and dinner, we went over to the Monson's for presents and were yet again spoiled! Took naps, got ready for the day, and then went back to my parents for a delicious prime rib dinner! YUM! All in all it was a very good day full of FAMILY which is all that really matters!

more catch up posts below!

Yes, normally i would lists all our gifts for my record right here...but i don't even think i can remember what we got and i'm too lazy! Plus i think Charly's up from her nap and I missed my shower! Oh well, what can ya do!

christmas eve...

2011-01-03T13:15:00.002-07:00

I think we all look like dorks in these pictures. Oh well, i'm posting them anyway! Our Christmas eve was spent at the Monson's eating treats and snacks, playing with cousins, and decorating our gingerbread trains.

the tree...

2011-01-03T13:12:00.001-07:00

the lights...

2011-01-03T13:07:00.002-07:00

Corey and I really wanted to take Charly to see the lights this year. She loves seeing our neighbors as well as our lights on, so we figured she'd love them! She calls them "pretty lights". So we made our trip to gateway for some light shopping and then went to see the lights at temple square! She liked the water fountain at the gateway and the lights. But by that time it had gotten pretty cold! She was a good sport though!

a family shoot...

2010-12-18T21:12:00.001-07:00

we may be related...but i think they're a pretty cute family! see more of them HERE!

birthday wishes...

2010-12-01T11:44:00.003-07:00

The cutest dad & husband ever is celebrating his 29th birthday today! Hope it's a good one!
Love you,

Brandy & Charly

all things halloween....

2010-11-08T14:29:00.008-07:00

i was a really good mom this year for halloween...
a) i made my daughters adorable costume from scratch, no pattern
b) i threw a cute little halloween get together with some friends
c) i decorated with spider webs and all the garb
but then also i was a really bad mom this year for halloween...
a) i took no actual pictures on halloween day
b) we trick or treated to two houses + grandparents
c) charly didn't even like our ward activity...wouldn't let us put her down!
d) and no pictures of our cute pumpkins that we carved, now long gone at the dump!
okay... so here's what I did capture...

THE CUTE OWL

THE PARTY COMERS
(by the way...so cute)

little lamb leighton jo

the whole gang
leighton - charly - mack - nyasame as above
drivin' the helicopter
mack the monkey

thanks guys for coming! i wish i would have got them all in their costumes...but it just so happened to be 80 degrees that day. the kids got too hot and we had to take off their costumes!

CHARLY'S FIRST PUMPKIN CARVE
she liked it, but didn't really want to get her hands dirty...weird since she loves to play in the mud and sand! oh well, it only took about an hour to empty this cute little pumpkin out! then i carved a baby jack-o-lantern (no picture) and that was that! later i lit them and her lid shrunk and fell into the pumpkin only to burn to a crisp!

so here's to next year...i'm hoping i can be a fun AND on top of it mom for halloween!

another newbie...

2010-10-19T19:37:00.002-06:00

twice in one week...how lucky am i?

want another peek...click HERE!

baby roman...

2010-10-18T14:51:00.002-06:00

more sneak peek, here...

half way there...

2010-09-29T19:06:00.003-06:00

oh my has this pregnancy seemed to fly by! i'm halfway to having another baby in our home...CRAZY! things are going great, baby is great and healthy, and i'm feeling quite good! nothing to report or complain about yet, so that is totally a bonus! here's the damage for being 20 weeks....

I swear i'm pregnant...promise!

So anyway, everything's good as I reported above! This little baby is a mover, just like Charly was! In the ultrasound yesterday i couldn't believe how fast those little legs were kicking and cruising all over the place! oh ya.....and did I mention it's a BOY! So now we'll have one of each! Yay, we're excited and now I'm just trying to prep for two little kids!

more of this cutie....

2010-09-14T21:24:00.003-06:00

see even more HERE...

18 months...

2010-09-02T14:37:00.002-06:00

Charly Monson
Weight: 23.4 lbs. - 40%
Heights: 33 1/4 in. - 90%

summer...

2010-09-02T14:12:00.007-06:00

where has the summer gone? it's getting colder and obviously school is back in session, but i'm not saying summer is over yet! however, here is a recap of what i've captured so far...it's not much!

BEACH MOMENTS

NAT'S SHOWER

BOATING/SKIING

FIRSTS

cool new shades

swinging and enjoying it
piggy braids

tractor rides with grandpa

PLAYING WITH FRIENDS

cute kids!

bye bye binky...

2010-08-10T22:03:00.003-06:00

friday night, corey and i decided it was time to adios the binky for real! i had planned on saying goodbye to binkies and bottles at 1...and no later. well the bottle went away but i didn't think charly was ready to give up her bink, or was it me who wasn't ready? it was me, because she did have a time when she didn't seem all that interested. soon after the non-interest turned into serious addiction. oh great! i was sure she'd be a five year old binky sucker...yuck that could not happen!
our plan: cut the binky tip off so that it lost its magic. and we'd do this saturday morning so she would have all day to adjust to no binky before bedtime.
day 1: corey snipped off the end, oh wait practically the whole bulb so that she really couldn't put it in her mouth anymore. she took a look at it and stared, tried to put it in her mouth, then stared some more. corey said, "it's broken, binky's broke". all day she would look at it and repeat, "broke, broke, broke". sometimes not even caring, other times completely sad. but at least she understood what had happened. that was the good part. nap #1 without binky was a complete failure. she didn't nap. she sat in her crib and bawled. later she fell asleep in the car and i'm counting that as a nap. night #1 she wouldn't go to sleep unless i was laying right beside her. awesome, now she has to go to sleep in my bed....wait she sleeps in my bed a lot in the morning after corey leaves for work! that night was rough, she woke up numerous times and wouldn't go back to sleep without me.
day 2: it was sunday and since she woke up early i thought we'd be able to squeeze in a nap before church so she could actually go! well, that also didn't happen! no nap, so we headed of to church. after sitting through sacrament i knew she wouldn't make it the whole block. so we brought her home to see if she'd take a nap. she fell asleep in the car on the way home....we live 1 minute away from the church. she was tired! her nap was short. darn that binky i thought! desperately wanting to give in and just give her a binky. too bad we didn't have a back up binky, actually not too bad, i couldn't give in! she seemed to handle the day well. only asking for her bink once. then she saw it and remembered it was broken. that night we got home late. she didn't fall asleep in the car and i thought for sure it would be another rough night. surprise, she went right to bed, didn't make a sound, dozed right off, slept until 10:00 am the next morning without waking once! what? after one night and she was cured? i could not believe it! this was easier than i thought! and now today (day four) it's like the binky never ever existed! how does this work? all i know is that for the next kid, we will not be so chicken about taking that binky away!

read the fine print...

2010-07-22T11:36:00.003-06:00

hey, turn around!

that's right everyone, we are adding another kid to this family!
we're very excited, charly has no clue, but i know she'll be a very good big sister!

going private...

2010-06-27T15:08:00.003-06:00

after playing the debate game, we have decided to make our blog private. we'd love to still have you visit so leave us a comment with your email. thanks friends!

behr's baby blessing....

2010-06-08T13:11:00.006-06:00

stacie and carl blessed their cute baby behr on sunday! it was such a fun occasion that we could all be together at! congratulations to them on their super cute little boy! it was such a neat blessing and a great day with family and friends! of course i was in charge of taking all the photos so i have them all and they haven't seen them yet! there are too many pictures to explain it might take me all day....so use your imagination!

lovely....

2010-06-05T21:05:00.004-06:00

what a joy it was taking pictures of little miss angela! slightly shy, but oh so sweet! please enjoy your sneak peak, i'll have the disc to ya tomorrow!

my girl...

2010-06-01T15:12:00.005-06:00

i keep posting pictures of other peoples kids, but not my own... so here she is, 15 months old and as cute as ever!

what she's up to lately...
***BUSY BUSY BUSY**** i know i say this everytime but she is such a busy girl!
she...
runs, kicks a ball, throws everything (including things at her mama), twirls, dances, climbs, sits in her chair, smells flowers, loves her dolls, gives kisses and good hugs, blows kisses off her forehead, does itsy bitsy spider sorta, knows where her head, belly, toes, feet, ears, and nose are. still eats awesome. says: mom, dad, baby, ball, belly, dog, tractor, what, hot, eat, behr sometimes, shoe, uh oh, ow, hi, bye, oh, num num, and makes sounds like a: dog, duck, pig, chicken, cow, walrus, and i think that's it. most the time her animals sounds are the same for other animals but she tries. overall i'd say we've got a pretty well rounded gal! she's so quick to learn now and is going to be our little athlete! we love her so much! she just keeps getting bigger and so much fun!

oh baby...

2010-05-15T14:14:00.004-06:00

heather,

how much fun was today! i can't believe how tiny he is, what a handsome guy! here's just a morsel of all the photo goodness...enjoy!

brandy

p.s. as usual click photo to enlarge!

in memory of....

2010-05-04T12:17:00.003-06:00

my grandpa

KEITH W. JOHNSON
His funeral was Monday. It was such a neat and unique service. Just what he wanted. I'm so glad I was able to attend and celebrate his life here on Earth. I'll miss you Grandpa! His obituary follows below, with pictures to follow in another post.

LAKETOWN, Utah - Keith Weston Johnson, 88, left this life peacefully at his home April 30, 2010. He was born in Laketown, Utah, on April 18, 1922, to Willis Dewitt and Lydia Ann Weston Johnson. He married Thelma Satterthwaite on Sept. 19, 1942, and was later sealed in the Logan LDS Temple on March 30 1959.
He was a man of varied interests and talents and was a civic leader. He gave generously of his time and means to the community and LDS Church. He served as president of the Rich County School Board and Bear Lake TV.
Keith has one passion in life, his love for livestock and the Big Creek Ranch. He devoted his life to good, hard, honest work. He was taught this ethic at an early age while working side by side with his father Dewitt.
Keith spent his life adding upon what his father started. He now passes that legacy of ranching to his sons.
Keith had a way with animals; his love and gentleness of them was always visible. His pets were his pals and always on his mind right to the end.
Keith loved and cared deeply for his family; they were what mattered most. He will be greatly missed and always remembered in our hearts. We are grateful we had the time we had and for the wealth of love and knowledge we all received.
He is survived by his wife Thelma; children: Joan (Mark) Mckinnon of Laketown, Utah; Dee (Gaye) Johnson of Dry Fork, Wyo.; Bonnie (Dewey) Forsberg of Logan, Utah; Philip (Bobbi) Johnson of Parker, Colo.; Nola (Farrell) Eastman of Millville, Utah; Kimberly (Brent) Roberts of Providence, Utah; Yale (Lisa) Johnson of Laketown, Utah.
Keith was preceded in death by his parents; a baby boy, Gilbert; two brothers and two sisters.
The family will have a private funeral at 11 a.m. Monday, May 3, 2010, at the Big Creek Ranch. Interment will be in the Big Creek Cemetery.
The Keith Johnson family will welcome friends to celebrate his life with them from 4 to 6 p.m. May 3, 2010, at their home.

meet our nephew...

2010-05-01T23:52:00.008-06:00

Stacie,

sorry i got the photos up so late...but here's a taste of a few of my favorites! you'll get to see the rest next week! thanks for the fun, try anything and everything session!

Brandy

p.s. click photos to enlarge

sneak peak....

2010-04-27T21:09:00.002-06:00

danielle,

how fun was today! so glad that the lighting was awesome, the tulips were beautiful and so was your little lady! pretty sure you look gorgeous too! i'll have the rest on thursday! see you then!

brandy

p.s. click photo to enlarge!

easter & baby animal days...

2010-04-07T21:33:00.007-06:00

can i just say that charly is at such a fun age! she's a handful, don't get me wrong! but 95% of the time she's making us laugh at all she does! does your baby have quirky behavior? we think charly does! things she's doing right now...
...dances to anything with a beat, i mean anything, she just starts wiggling. it's like she can't help it!
...her favorite place to hang out is on the first step of any stair, it's the perfect height for her to sit on!
...is loving her stuffed animals right now...i'll have to take a picture of her with all of them!
...always wants to look out the window or be outside, even when it's snowy and windy!
...loves building towers and knocking them down!
...plays with shoes, so don't leave them around!
...trying to talk more, but still struggling! working on animal sounds, but so far a cow says boo and a duck and pig make the same loud squeak! too funny! she knows the sound a truck, car and tractor make though!

okay that's enough, onto the real post!

Easter.

What a fun time of year! The weather was great, until it snowed, but we still had a fun day! We spent conference weekend up at the lake house relaxing. Easter morning Charly discovered the Easter Bunny had paid her a visit. Isn't it awesome that they always find you, even if you're not at your house! Surprisingly, Charly was pretty excited about hunting for eggs and really good at it. Saying, "ooohh", in a deep whispering voice each time she spotted an egg. She didn't like it when I had her put the eggs in her basket, she wanted to just open it over and over again! But eventually with our help she found all the eggs and goodies left for her! After morning session of conference we went home to Corey's dads birthday party. Dinner was good and then we colored eggs, for the second time (my fav part)! I hate the PAAS brand of egg dye, it sucks, so next year we won't be buying that kind! It wasn't overly exciting and I was bummed we didn't get to all dress up in our Easter attire for church, but we'll do that this Sunday instead! A few pics of course...checkin' out her Easter basket

summer sandals, romper, animal crackers & candy On her hunt

Baby Animal Days.

So much FUN! And so much CUTENESS! I have never been, but since Charly loves every kind of animal she's ever seen I wanted to take her!Albino Peacock

with the baby billy goats
(dad looks so cute, why did you close your eyes charly?)

petting the baby calf

oink, oink, standing with the pigs!

first pony ride....sorta scary

she didn't love it, but seriously was laughing pretty hard at one point!

on the choo choo train!
(pardon the fattest face in the world, bad angle!)

Who knew that our own Jensen's Historical Farm could be so cool! We're definitely going back next year!

dresses...

2010-03-30T13:59:00.003-06:00

we couldn't wait completely for the beautiful spring weather to emerge...so we took pictures with charly's new dresses anyway! i'm especially glad i didn't wait until this week....yuck...that's all i have to say!

trying to win this....

2010-03-15T12:43:00.003-06:00

and if i put a link to her blog on my blog, i get a double entry! Thanks Alexis Miller for this giveaway!

http://phototips.alexismiller.com/

exciting things happening at our house...

2010-03-11T21:35:00.010-07:00

first off, no more of these!we've been bottle free for a week now! yay!

charly's not a little girl anymore

she's facing forward now in her big girl seat and loving it!

we're experimenting with some cool photography!

more to come with this technique!

the snow has melted at our house!
p.s. this is our house!

my bulbs are coming up!
which means i planted them right! whoo hoo!

and we've got these in charly's closet

(only the pink one's navy blue)

go Easter!

so i'm pretty sure those last three photos can only mean one thing....
spring is almost here!
hallelujah!
i'm not sure i could have made it much longer!

winners...

2010-03-09T12:08:00.002-07:00

thank you to all who entered, unfortunately, there could only be two winners and here they are...

LISA

&

SHANNON

CONGRATULATIONS! sorry everyone else (charly picked the winners out of her hat)...i really wanted to take your pictures. and i still will, same conditions for $50 dollars, about 30 edited photos on cd. let me know if your interested and winners, i'll contact you to set up a session!

extending my contest....

2010-03-07T20:24:00.003-07:00

i've decided to extend it. whether more people comment or not. i'm keeping the contest open until monday. no time limit! to find out more scroll to the next post.

quiet book, cutting teeth, curls, check-ups & a contest...

2010-03-05T12:41:00.008-07:00

i know i promised to show off the ADORABLE quiet book i made for Charly's 1st birthday. i have to give credit to the incredibly talented SHELLEY WALLACE who has a store on etsy, where i bought the template to make this quiet book. unfortunately, Charly still doesn't know how to do most of things that this book teaches, she will learn, and eventually enjoy completing each task instead of eating all the pieces!

The COVER

Unbutton the SNOWFLAKE & Put your hand in the MITTEN

Tie a bow on the SKATE & Count the MARSHMALLOWS in the HOT COCOA

Build a SNOWMAN & Find all his PARTS

BACK COVER

even though this book was a slight pain, i enjoyed the project. now i'm wanting to make her alphabet book. 26 pages, maybe i'm crazy, but it would give me something to do!

CUTTING TEETH
i didn't know that getting teeth would be one of the most awful parts of my babies first life. she now has TEN, yes i said 10 teeth! and she's working on cutting two more. teeth make charly not want to eat or sleep. medicine acts as a slight band aid, but doesn't completely take away the pain! her top molars came in two weeks ago, and now her bottom molars are so close. her poor gums are way swollen! sorry baby!

CURLS
recently after doing Charly's hair, or after getting her out of the tub. i find a perfect curly-q at her neck. some might say it looks like the infamous rat tails boys used to sport way back when. i think it looks adorable! is the rest of her hair curly you ask, no. but i hope this curl stays!
CHECK-UPS

Charly's one year check-up was last Thursday and she's very heathly and doing well! She had 5 shots and a toe prick! talk about a rough day! she wouldn't let me bend her legs if i carried her, she would lay flat like i was carrying a board! poor girl! here are her stats...(6 shiney band aids in all)
Height: 29 1/2 in. - 70%
Weight: 20 lbs. 5.5 oz. - 50%
Head: don't know - 60%

CONTEST
now if you've made it this far down the post you must be a devoted reader of my blog, or i suppose you could just be bored out of your mind! doesn't matter, you made it! as many of you know i've picked up photography as my hobby. i've been practicing quite a bit on family. i would not say i'm perfect, i've got a lot to learn. so i'm opening up the opportunity to have your child's photos taken for free so i can practice more. i'll be giving away two free photo sessions, preferably outdoors, unless it's a little one. in the next few months we'll schedule the sessions. so you must have kids now or about to pop one out soon! i'll take the photos, edit about 30 photos and give you a copy of the cd for prints. the more kids you have, the less photos of each kid there will be. and we could squeeze in some family portraits as well. excited? here's what you've got to do...
*leave a comment on this post saying you'd like in on my drawing.
*you can only comment once, unless you'd like to comment for someone else who you think needs this.
*i'll pick two winners, (unless there's like a buttload of people who enter, i may pick more) fairly by drawing from a hat!
*the contest ends on Sunday at 6:00pm.
*you have to live in Utah or be here sometime to have them taken.

*good luck and thanks for letting me practice on you!

cuties...

2010-02-19T15:02:00.002-07:00

nat,
you're kids were great to work with! even though it was FREEZING and there were a few TEARS...we ended up with some great shots! hope you enjoy your sneak peak!

bran

p.s.
click to enlarge

ONE...

2010-02-17T10:34:00.007-07:00

yesterday my baby turned ONE! it's weird, she still seems the same to me, not one, but just Charly. but now because of yesterday I have to say she's one. what a drag...but she had a very fun day! Here's a recap....
Monday (one day prior)
How fun to wake up barfing all morning the day before your birthday! how convenient for your mom who instead of getting everything ready, was cleaning up throw up all over the house! good thing it stopped after taking some serious long naps!
Tuesday (the big day)
You woke up at 8:30, i brought the video camera in to show you on your birthday morning, oh wait the battery was dead! glad i checked before your party!
You had pancakes, some plain and some with blueberries, your favorite!
After not taking a morning nap you grew grumpy! Dad came home, grandma came over to help with the frosting for your cake. you ate lunch, had a bottle and went night night! for only one hour! why is it that on the days when you need a nap, you won't take one!
Five thirty rolls around and your party guests show up. you have presents galore! is it Christmas all over again? looks like it! we open (we meaning everyone else, you helped a little) your presents, you care more about the ribbons and your shoes.
Time for cake. we sang, mom blew out your candle. stripped you of your clothes and let you dig in. you were very cautious, the frosting was sticky. eventually you started tearing in, but didn't take a bite. the frosting tasted good, but then you wouldn't eat the cake. after a few bites, you'd had enough and threw the cake on the floor.
Clean up time! grandma monson cleaned you up and you ran around in circles for a good twenty minutes. what a show off you were! you got worn out, and of course the no nap came into play. everyone said their goodbye's and left.
TUB TIME! you had a good tub, got ready for bed. bottle. night night. you were so sleepy.
Twenty minutes later. SCREAMS from upstairs. you threw up again!
What a way to end your first birthday!

you sure are a special girl! you're always making us laugh! i wish i knew what you were thinking all the time! you never stop moving unless you're sleepy, and even then you don't want to stop!
you're still afraid of the vacuum, love climbing and playing on the stairs, love bananas, blueberries, pancakes, peas, milk, ice cream, and bread. you're sweet, give loves and kisses. are quite well behaved, except for the occasional tantrum. sleep awesome at night and take way better naps than ever before! love books! p.s. i made her cute quiet book and will have to post pics on it....you're going to be jealous! that's all i can think of now! but you'll always be our baby girl!

happy valentine's day....

2010-02-14T11:56:00.004-07:00

look who's walking...

2010-01-29T15:10:00.004-07:00

last Friday Charly started walking. now, she still prefers crawling because it's faster, but she's getting more and more daring every day! soon she'll be running all over the house!

11 months...

2010-01-16T15:25:00.007-07:00

only one month to go till she's ONE a.k.a the day i have a nervous breakdown!
it can't be that close ALREADY

(jan. 16th @ woodruff elementary, her future school)

anyway...time to blab all about Charly...like that's anything new!
She's awesome, does the funniest things, and is such a sweetie! here's what she's been up to...

has EIGHT teeth, four on top and four on bottom
likes to give LOVES to ANYTHING, including my mascara tubes, her "baby", puppy, and mom and dad!
loves eating with her HANDS
is becoming a picky eater but loves to drink now
had her first SLUMBER PARTY (picture below)
loves being OUTSIDE
dances and BOUNCES when there's music on
close to WALKING, pushes her baby buggy and CHOO CHOO around the house
laughs so hard when i put her BINKY in my eye (hey we get board around here)
signs MILK and sort of EAT
and is tooo dang SMART

first piggy tailslikes to wear loungers like her mommafirst slumber party Jan. 2, 2010
ok it was so much fun, we pulled our bed all the way downstairs and played until it was too late and charly slept in her new sleeping bag! she did pretty good, but only made it until like 3 am and then slept in our bed! a new family tradition!such a cutie!
yearning for pictures of us...don't have any! check back later!

i've obtained it....

2009-12-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Tony, Brandy, Charly, Corey, Brent, Kim, Cody, Maria & Bailey

CHRISTMAS 2009...

2009-12-26T22:28:00.005-07:00

We hope you all had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This will be a Christmas that Corey and I will never forget! We got to start early with Corey's family on Christmas Eve. We ate and visited and opened our gifts to each other. Unfortunately we didn't get any photos, just video and I wasn't going to upload it tonight...sorry! But it was fun, Charly was less than interested in her toys. She liked the ribbon and the newspaper sitting on the couch much better than her toys. Then in the afternoon we headed to Bear Lake to meet my family. We also ate and hung out, took our traditional Christmas Eve photo by the tree
(seen here)off course she had to rip her head band off!

And we did have one with the whole family later, but Charly was asleep and I don't have it on my camera...wish I did though!

I was so excited, like usual, but apparently so was Charly! She went to bed sorta late but then woke up repeatedly throughout the night! I couldn't believe that I wasn't the reason I wouldn't be getting any sleep this Christmas Eve. I think I slept 20 minutes total. And by 3:30 Corey and I gave up on trying to get the moster back to sleep. All she wanted to do was play, play and play! So we created a tent in our bed, equiped with legs for poles, and she went in and out for a good two hours! It was way funny, even when I want to be mad at her, I can't because she's just so cute! Her new favorite thing is to fake laugh, so anytime we laugh she does too...plus she gets tons of attention when she does it! So when 5:30 hit I thought heck we better just wake everyone up so that we could do some Christmas before she decided to get sleepy. So we woke up bright and early and it was lots of fun! Charly didn't care about anything really, so I pretty much opened most of her presents, but she sorta caught on by the end. At about 8:00 she started to look really tired. I opened her cabbage patch doll and was getting it out of the box, i look over and she was gone. She pretty much slept on and off all day and wouldn't eat! I got kinda worried but she did better the next night. She still seems to be catching up today even! I can't blame her, it was rough, we all looked horrible Christmas Day! Come to find out she cut another tooth Christmas day and is working on more! So this past week she's cut two! Poor girl! Teeth are rough! So anyway for your viewing pleasure there are a few pictures below!opening her presents

showing her sweet tent/tunnel that she won't even get near!Corey sporting his chuck t's that he's not sure he likes...i think they look awesome...he thinks they make his feet look too long! lame...your feet are long!Uncle Tony helping Charly open presents. She's actually ripping the paper herself!

Pushing her presents across the floor!

later in the day trying her new sippy...hasn't got that down yet either! she did not look good - babies need sleep!On her Pooh Bear choo-choo train! Too cute!

As usual I must record our gifts for my memory! So skip this...it's not interesting to you!
Charly:
Pj's, Outfits, Socks, Bibs, Sippy cups, Puffs, Snow White, Noahs Ark, Play Tent/Tunnel, Choo-Choo train, stacking cups, moccosin shoes, see 'n say, cabbage patch newborn (name Erin Carson), books, wood alphabet blocks, popping vaccum, blankie, peek-a-boo doll. I think that's it.
Corey:
Router & Router table, Router bits, Air Compressor + air tools, Chuck T's, Hoodies, T's, Eat this Not that (cool book), warm ups, wireless thermometer, cordless drill, car creeper, snowboarding jacket, nuts, pocket knife, gift certs, candy, pj's.
Brandy:
Snowflake dishes, black boots (don't fit) i have too fat of calf muscles! Pants, skirt, sweaters, shirts, pj's, knit headband, fuzzy blankets, pedicure kits, picture frame, dirty dancing, you've got mail, taylor swift, earings, neclace, bracelet, nail polish, ipod nano 8g purple, perfume, pocket knife giraffe print.

The end!

christmas dress...

2009-12-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Just too dang cute not to post!

the months keep flying...

2009-12-16T20:53:00.003-07:00

CHARLY
10 Months

she doesn't look naughty at all right?
too bad she is super naughty!
**what she's doing this month**
pinching...ouch
eating lil' crunchies
standing alone
does actions on command, ex: hands up high, wash hands, bye bye again (after dissappearing for months), high five, and claps
ate pizza
loves her colors book
doing everything she's not supposed to!

for you danielle...

2009-12-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

i hope you're happy with you sweet babies photos!
(click to zoom)

classic christmas photo...

2009-12-11T19:08:00.001-07:00

this little guy turns 28...

2009-12-02T21:10:00.002-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COREY

friday night bubble baths....

2009-11-23T11:16:00.002-07:00

i thought it would be fun to start doing friday night bubble baths for Charly. She loves the bubbles and she loves her baths still! It was so funny because she just dunked her face into the bubbles! what a cute girl!

9 MONTHS....

2009-11-23T11:04:00.003-07:00

it seems weird to think that as long as charly grew in my belly, she's been out of my belly! i think i say it every post...but they grow up way too fast!Monday Nov. 16th, 2009
9 months
18 lbs. 7 oz. - 50%
28 1/2 in. - 80%

Wow so charly grew 5 inches long in three months! i knew she was getting bigger but...holy cow that is a lot! She got one of her top teeth that day, finally! And today a week later she got the other! it has been a long couple of months dealing with teeth and seperation anxiety at night! but thank heavens the past two nights have been awesome, she's slept all night in her own bed, yay!

things to remember...
* shakes her head no
*claps her hands when you say clap
*plays peek-a-boo
*knows what a puppy says and goes and gets her stuffed animal puppy when you say woof
*gabs a bunch
*loves going under things and climbing over things
*stands by herself when she's not paying attention
*can't hold still!!!

I think that's about it! She just keeps getting more fun and more busy! But we love having her and watching her grow!

happy halloween 2009....

2009-11-03T18:43:00.003-07:00

halloween kicked off this year with an annual pumpkin carving. i've decided it's so tedious and tiring, but the end result is so fun! here are our creations this year...hmmmm.. wonder which one is mine?
Then on Halloween day, we got the itch for something new, so we made our second biggest purchase since being married....

Yep a new car! Oh and were we over due...so i'm very happy with this purchase!!!

Finally after waiting at Wilson for hours, we went home to get ready for trick or treating...here's our precious bunny wabbit!too cute...so obviously we had to go dressed as a family of wabbits!You've gotta give me props for making Corey dress as a wabbit, and for making our lovely costumes...minus Charly's...that's why she looks sooooo cute!

my baby is 8 months...

2009-10-16T19:48:00.003-06:00

wow! time flies! i can't believe she's 8 months old! she certainly is a ton of fun and a ton of mischief all rolled into one super cute girly!

funny things about Charly...
- she hates shoes...it's probably my fault because she never wears them and now that she needs to, she hates them. and when they're on her feet she acts like they are full of cement and she can't move them!
- she's such a busy bee. nothing slows her down. she is afraid of nothing. she climbs all over everything and everyone. using her little pinchers to grab onto anything that might help her stand up. including skin and hair...ouchy!
- she finally started saying dada. but not very often. she also says woof, woof occasionally when she sees puppies.
- she's too fast now! i can't take my eyes off her for one second or she's into something she shouldn't be. including up the stairs. we're still working on coming down without falling down!
- she still loves outside.
- she loves to listen to daddy play the guitar.
- and three months after her first teeth, she has no new ones! i swear anyday it should happen. i mean she's covered in drool all the time!
- finally the spit-up has calmed down. i can't say it's gone completely away but i think it will be soon! i hope...oh how i hope!
- and we love her to pieces. she's one of a kind!

she's mobile....

2009-09-26T12:03:00.002-06:00

Well after a month of tricking us into thinking that Charly was going to crawl any day, she finally realized the mechanics of it and CRAWLED yesterday Sept. 25th! How exciting, but not at the same time! I can't just put her anywhere or leave anything out! She's such a strong little girl she's sitting up from her back now and can always get back to the sitting position by herself! I'm so proud of her! Next stop...walking!

summer recap....

2009-09-17T09:38:00.022-06:00

Our little girl is growing all up! She's turned seven months old yesterday! I just can't believe it! Right now she loves walking around with us holding her hands! I swear she'd do it all day if we let her! She's pulling herself up on everything! Still loves everything she eats...except maybe peaches! She's wearing size 3 diapers now and is definitely experiencing so seperation anxiety right now! It's hard, and she's working on more teeth still and is a drooly drooly mess! She's just like her mom and gets giggly when she's tired! She's got the cutest little laugh and we love doing anything we can to hear it!

i am super behind on my post, so for my blogging pleasure i will be recapping all the way back to the fourth of July. long post to follow....

4th of July Bear Lake, Utah

beautiful sunset , photo by my dad

1st 4th of JulyMom and Baby all dressed up

FIRST BEACH DAY FOR CHARLY she loved the water and was such a good sport! i just love her cute swimmer!

Our VERY blue eyed girl!

She's SIX MONTHS old!
Weight 15 lbs 11 oz
Height 23 3/4 inches
We just love her so much and six months is such a fun age! She's become super wiggly and never ever stops moving! She got her two bottom teeth and is working on some more! She's loving her food more than anything and says mmmmmmmm, num, num after almost every bite! She also says mom now, but will not say dad! it's too funny!

Bienvenidos Uncle Tony!
Tony's home and it's fun to have him back, my whole family went to Peru to get him...minus us because Charly was not allowed to go with! So we just got settled into our own house and took care of everyone elses homes! It was great! Tony does not like his new niece, he thinks she's gross brcause she spits up a lot and he holds her like she's a fungus that he might catch! I think he just needs to get a little more used to her!

Boating!She looks so cute in her penguin life vest! At first Charly was scared and slightly in shock! But now she loves it! The last time we went she completely zonked on the boat and slept the whole time!
Random Shots!
Tony brought Charly back a Peru soccer outfit and it's so cute I just had to take a picture of them together!

Just messing around with my new camera, she's just too cute i keep taking a million pictures!

family pictures...

2009-08-08T20:52:00.004-06:00

last saturday we got our first family photographs taken by the marvelously talented Stephanie Tueller (see blog to the right) anywho...they turned out great we are so excited to see the rest, but here's what she gave us as a sneak peak!
we also moved into our house on July 28th, so we've been here almost two weeks and are just loving all the new space, being able to decorate, and just plain being out of our cave! i have so much to post about, but it will all have to come later when i do an official post about the house!
*****how about a little charly update*****
*She's almost six months now
*Sits up by herself like such a champ
*Loves dogs....oh my heck I mean loves them....but we are not getting a puppy!
*Has her two bottom teeth, they are almost all the way showing! She got them both pretty close to July 23rd.
*She's stopped sleeping perfectly through the night, so we're trying to work out those kinks!
*She also loves plastic bags and any kind of tag on a toy, why bother playing with a toy if it's got a tag to suck on!
*And lastly she's such a spitter, I wish we had a cure for it, we're trying all sorts of things to help mellow it out a little....any suggestions would be wonderful!

feeling so lucky....

2009-07-15T19:46:00.004-06:00

just a quick update on our situation....many of you may have heard about the logan landslide on the island, it has affected our neighbors and ward members very much! the slide happened just three houses away from our apartment on saturday July 11th! so we are feeling so grateful that nothing happened to us or our apartment, but sad for those who have lost loved ones or had their properties damaged! we won't be staying here any longer! i don't feel like it's safe enough. but just so everyone knows we are all okay and weren't here at the time of the slide! />if you haven't heard about it, or want to see pictures of the damage go to http://www.ksl.com because I don't have time to post them!

we finally did it....

2009-07-02T11:15:00.005-06:00

we bought a house! it's only taken us one big, long, frustrating year...but we finally found the house for us! we don't close until the 27th of July unless the bank really gets our loan through quick then we can move our close date up! but we're exciting to finally have our own place, our own rooms (hallelujah!) , and have a nice big yard! it will be so fun! i don't have any pictures of the outside, that is definitely not my favorite part, but it's roomy and has lots of family space! i'll post pictures once we get painted and re-designed inside! until then, we'll see if I have anything exciting to post about!
oh wait....i can always post about my little sweetie....
she's a chubster, we went to her four month check up and she weighs 14 lbs. 3.5 oz (75%) and is 24 3/4 inches tall (70%)....but we like that she's a big girl and a good eater! she also recently has enough hair to do a cute mowhawk and got her toenails painted for the first time! oh yeah, and we found out she has a hemangioma on her back! i though it was a giant blood blister from pinching her with a snap on her outfit, but the doctor reassured us that we're still good parents and it wasn't our fault!! it will go away by itself in about a year!

this post would not be complete without a picture of charly!

yes she's the big....

2009-06-18T21:30:00.003-06:00

Four Months Old

my you're getting so big...but so dang fun!

Ivy pictures...

2009-06-18T21:21:00.007-06:00

I'll be taking more pictures this week of my sweetheart...but I had to snap some at this beautiful secret locale with a perfect little bench fit for a child...too bad Charly isn't totally sitting up by herself yet! Also too bad she was grouchy and would move every time I took a shot! Wish me better luck later this week!

what charly does now...

2009-06-03T15:19:00.007-06:00

yeah, i know, i only blog about our little sweetie....but who cares....i'm with her all day, she's cute, and that's all that's exciting in my life! so deal with it!she looks adorable in green!

half the time she won't even look at me because she's glued to the tv!she loves to hold her own bottle...she thinks she's in control but she totally isn't!she's learning how to eat cereal...it's taking awhile!she's loving her bumbo and is such a happy girl!and she's going to be a basketball player! she can palm this eater egg like nobody's business!

And lastly just a funny little side note...i busted my mail man peeing in our bushes yesterday! so pretty much wash your hands after you get the mail!

3 months new...

2009-05-21T09:17:00.011-06:00

we decided to run get Charly's pictures done yesterday and they turned out pretty cute...it gave me a nice break from taking her pictures! she's three months now and growing like crazy!

Meeting Ggrandpa & Ggrandma Johnson....

2009-05-18T15:28:00.005-06:00

This weekend we traveled up to Bear Lake to relax, visit my grandparents, it was my grandma's birthday so they had a party and met Charly for the first time! It was so fun to see family and relax!

how sweet...first meeting

taking a nap with grandpa j

four generations of girls

since you've been gone....

2009-05-03T17:44:00.010-06:00

charly's changed quite a bit! she's growing so big and so we've taken some pictures to document her new skills and hobbies!she can wear cute skirts and play with her toys!

she loves her keys!i don't know why this is sideways, but she can sit up by herself for a short time....but that's all she wants to do is sit up! but slowly....
she gets slumpy....
and slumpier until she's almost a little ball!
we also found a new toy! welcome sulley to the monson family! thank you kellogs!and she loves to suck on her fists...it's so entertaining and so slimey!

and last but certainly not least she's got the longest, curliest, most beautiful lashes that mom has ever seen! wow! all the gals will be jealous of you someday! and i swear they are longer every morning! (click to zoom in)

So here you go grandparents....seems like you've been gone for ages! i guess I would be too if I were here.....see ya soon!

Creative Tag...now that I've got some spare time....

2009-04-29T09:45:00.000-06:00

The first five people to respond to this post will receive something made by me. HOMEMADE! The item will be my choice made just for you!

Restrictions and Limitations:

1. I have complete creative freedom
2. What I create will be just for you
3. It will be done within the next 6 months
4. You have no clue what it will be. It may be personalized note cards. I might bake something. I might not think of anything until 6 months from now...

The catch? You must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same giveaway to 5 people who comment. The first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift from me! Be sure to post a picture of what you get!

Anyone past the 6th comment will be entered in a drawing for another item!

Good Luck!

let's compare....

2009-04-27T11:05:00.009-06:00

many people don't really know who Charly looks most like....so I've decided to do a picture comparison from when we were babies!Hospital Pictures

compare???

some months later...
Charly now...10 weeks so...who do you think she looks most like???
well no matter who she looks like...we sure think shes a cutie!!!

and hey if you've got a young one...do this...it's pretty fun to see!

Charly's Blessing....

2009-04-26T20:08:00.008-06:00

It's taken me forever to post these pictures because they are on my dad's memory card and it wouldn't read on my parents computer (yes we are staying at my parents while they are in Europe). So anyway, we blessed Charly on April 19, 2009. It was an impromtu blessing, we were planning on doing it the 3rd of May, but when my parents found out they were going to Europe for who knows how long, we decided it would be best to hurry and switch days! It turned out great! It was such a memorable experience! When the bishopric member was announcing that there would be a baby blessing, he was so nervous and said that Charly was a baby boy! I just told her to get used to it...I'm sure it will happen a lot! Corey gave an amazing blessing and then afterwards held her up for everyone to see, you know tradition, and she spit up all over her white dress! Everyone laughed...we will never forget that day! Here's the beauty....Charly with Great Grandma Roberts
She's the fine lady who made Charly's beautiful dress!

She didn't want to pose with GGrandparents!Such a special day for our family!And all the Roberts...minus Tony!

Sorry Monson's we didn't get pictures with you but of course they were there supporting!

2 month check-up...

2009-04-22T15:59:00.009-06:00

oh what a sad day! charly went in for her 2 month appointment and had to get 3 shots....boo! she was so happy and such a good girl for the doctor, but then was decieved by her parents that everything was just fine...when bam...one shot gets stabbed into each leg and then an additional shot gets stabbed in the right leg! she just looked at me like what on earth is happening to me! it was so sad! after screaming for a few minutes she perked up a bit and then slept the whole way home ( i think we can thank boompa for that because the diesel sound of the truck must be soothing)! she's being a trooper and is now asleep, but every once in a while she wakes up wimpering...i think it must be a reaccurring shot stabbing dream or something! hopefully the baby tylenol helps!

just waiting

in all her partial nude glory...just before the stabbing occured

the stats...weight: 11 lbs. 12 oz. (75%)
height: 22 in. (50%)
cute feet...so healthy

when we got home...half sleepy/sad
those poor legs...cute tweety bird bandaids though
there she is now...peeping like a baby
(yes mom the bed is made...and the hats are there...see??)

the beautiful weather...

2009-04-22T15:45:00.004-06:00

i hope everyone is enjoying the weather...it is so nice...we're just lovin' it! yesterday we went to the zoo, charly hated every minute of it...oh well, what do you expect she couldn't see a thing!

at the zoo in her strollerplaying outside...love the green grass!
(yes grandma they fertilized it on monday and said that the rain will water it)

To Gram & Boompa...

2009-04-20T17:01:00.003-06:00

Hello from the states...

we miss you already!