Reed is One!

No celebration is complete without Nana.  She came all the way from Cali for Reed's first birthday.  We had fun putting all the candy on this kid-tastic cake.

Merry Christmas

Personalize your own free photo slideshow

Mesa AZ Temple Christmas Lights

So Beautiful.

How on Earth am I going to keep this kid safe?

Accidents are the leading cause of injury & hospitalization in children. No wonder!

This boy just barely learned to walk, and he is climbing all over. I want to nickname him "Goat".

Every time I walk around the corner, and find Reed climbing something new.

Here are some candid shots of his climbing adventures.

Reed used the chair to climb onto the table, and was eating Lilly and Anisten's Thanksgiving Artwork.

Paper and Glue, Yum!

Serious?

Are you Serious?!

In other news:

Reed enjoyed his first Oreo cookie.

Reed turns 1 in eight days. I've been doing a lot of reflection this last month, approaching his first birthday. A year ago I wasn't sure he would survive his beginning life battle. When he survived it, I thought we might have a special needs child dependant on medical equipment for his lifetime. What blessings have been doled out to us, that Reed is a perfectly beautiful baby boy, requiring no special medical attention.

I have gratitude for my Heavenly Father, for the blessings I do not deserve.

I love you Reed!

New Quilt

This summer we went to the International Kite Festival in Long Beach Washington.  This is by far my favorite vacation spot.  My mom was able to join us, and while strolling the beach shops Mom and I found a darling little quilt shop.  Though I left the quilt shop without kite fabric, I did score this great "Crazy" quilt book, by the Buggy Barn.  This is my second quilt ever, and I started it just prior to moving to AZ.  I worked really hard on it up until the time we moved, I wanted the pieces to be in a movable state. 

It was torture to be in AZ for a month, with no friends and nothing to do, and have my quilt and sewing machine in STORAGE!!!!  I really would have liked to work on it then. 

"It Takes A Village" quilt,  Can you tell what it is going to be?

So glad I found this book "Those Crazy Kids"  Crazy quilting is when the fabric pieces are not the exact same size, the angles are not normal, and it seems crazy when you are doing it, but it all turns out great.  I cut through 13 fabrics at a time with a 60mm rotary cutter.  That felt crazy!

Gobble Gobble

last week driving to the store.......
Me: "Kids, what do we eat for Thanksgiving?"
Lilly: "TURKEY! Yum!"
Me: "That's right.  Want to help me pick out a turkey?"
Lilly: pause, quizative look, "Mom, How we gonna catch a turkey?"

Halloween at Last!

We dressed up as the clan from Peter Pan.

 Tinker-Bell had the perfect hair!

Tiger Lilly- Cutest blond indian I ever saw!

 Who wouldn't be scared of this guy?

Rylan won his work dress up contest.

Nice eyeliner!

 I'm Wendy, I got to wear a nightgown HA!

 Ward Trunk or Treat

 Girls drew the faces on, Daddy carved um out.

Mom's Pumpkin Houses

We carved um a week before, they were rotten by halloween, it was 95 degrees that week.

I guess in Phoenix you carve pumpkins the day before.

What would our little clan be without the star, Peter Pan!

This is Reed's favorite manly pose, he plays like this all the time.

Other fun stuff: Anisten insisted on flying with her wings!  She thought she really could fly.  She insisted on going outside, and Daddy helped her fly.  She loved it.

The Hook costume was a hit with the kids. 

 And the swords

 And the wig

To Be Like a Fishie

I've been prepping Anisten for her change from nursery to primary starting in January.  Anisten was a late talker, doesn't show interest in friends, still throws tantrums at times, needless to say I'm concerned she isn't ready for Primary.  Non the less, we've been talking about what her new Sunbeam class will be like, and singing time, and being in Primary with big sister Lilly.

Anisten later told me that she does not want to be a Sunbeam.  She said "I want to be like a fishie... I want a fishie tatoom."  I asked her if she could be a Sunbeam, and be like a fishie.  She said "Nope".  She is determined.

Now I know she is not ready for Primary.  Fishie class anyone?

Arizona and New Shoes

Here we are in Sunny Arizona.  We flew and arrived safely on Thursday last week.  All our stuff is in storage, we are living in a furnished 3br apartment until we find a rental home, and are sharing one rental car until our automobiles arrive.  Bad news: I have no computer, no quilt to work on, no friends and no family and Phoenix has no Recycling program.  Oh and the bugs, lots and lots of bugs. 
Good news: Reed's surgery couldn't have gone better, and I pretty much love it here so far.  Could it be due to my hair turning out fabulous every day? :) Today Rylan didn't have to be to work until 8am (normally he starts at 6:30am).  So me and the kids drove him to work so we had use of the car all day!  Today it happened to be raining and Lilly and Anisten saw and enjoyed their first RAINBOW!  It actually was a double rainbow.  Ah, we loved it, marveled at it, oogled, and ahhed.  We named off the colors, and talked about what a rainbow is.  What a mini blessing for us!  Of all the rain in Seattle, when was the last time you saw a rainbow?
With my happy husband off to work, me and the kids in tow, we set off to find the mall (I've used my GPS non-stop).  Baby Reed grew out of his shoes and has been going bare foot. since we got here.. wwhich would be fine, but Reed is on the cusp of walking.  I was on the hunt for a sturdy pair of walking shoes.  Our first stop: Stride Rite.  The sales lady measured Reed's foot as a 5 wide, on the verge of 5 double wide!  No wonder I couldn't get his other shoes on, they were a size 3!  oops.  Ever wonder what your baby would tell you if he could talk?  Like, those shoes hurt!  I'm positive Reed would tell me he is done with baby food or any other substance spooned into his mouth.  I'm not sure what to feed the guy, he only has 7 teeth.  Anyway, We got some great brown and orange double Velcro strap shoes.  He will be off and running in no time.  By the way, we got completely DRENCHED running from the mall to the car.  I'm talking POURING.
I have no photos to post.  I packed my camera, but not the cord to upload.  Tootles.