The Thomas Family

A couple more things

2012-02-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

This little beauty is a crawling machine now! She has been mobile for the past month or so but it was mostly a quick army crawl...She recently discovered her knees and is crawling all around at 8 months old.

Playing with sister

Oh and the little Mr is now 1 full month old. Cousin Everett, still looking like his momma!

SMN

2012-02-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

A simple goal I have set for myself is to be in more pictures with my girls. I will admit I dont love being in front of the camera these days, but I want my girls to have pictures to look back on when they are older. Hopefully they will KNOW that I was always there for them, but if they get attitudes later on, they might need proof :) haha

Marlee Moo

2012-02-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

OH my Marlee. This girl is just something else. We spent the week in california and she is just always so full of drama, life and surprises.

Marlee is still very good at helping me take care of Nora and she is great at getting Nora to laugh! She has recently started scolding Nora when she does something unacceptable, like pick up something that is NOT a toy, or smacking Marlees arm. This week I heard a lot of "stop that right now ung lady! (young lady)" or "dont EVER do that ung lady!" Im sure her intentions are the best though :)

Marlee Loves the men in her life. Her Daddy of course, and Her Boppa next. On the drive down to California she was a little over-tired (fighting that nap again) so she started to cry in the car. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I just want to go to Boppa's House, I just love him." Later when I told her that Aunt Crystal, baby Everett and Uncle Justin were going to be there she sighed a big sigh and said, "I just really Love Justin." :)

Marlee could really be quite happy spending the ENTIRE day outside. She begs to go to the park and thats where we can usually be found. She loves climbing, sliding, and "Marlee REALLY LOVES SWINGING!"

And when it comes to swinging, THE HIGHER THE BETTER... and boy Im not kidding about that. Pretty much since the first time we put her in a swing she signed "more, more, more" and then when she could speak she said, "Higher, higher, higher." She isnt satisfied unless every swing is the kind of swing that goes so high the chain starts to get a little slack in it when falls back down.

This girl is pretty mischievous. Several months ago I ran upstairs to do something and left Marlee down with the tv on and nora in the exersaucer and came down to find Marlee helping out. :) She had found a bowl of baby cereal, dragged her easel over and propped the baby food on it and proceeded to feed Nora.

I thought it was a little too quiet down there! I dont think Nora was all that interested based on the picture. :)

Today on the drive home from California Marlee helped out some more. She decided to share a zone bar with nora. I looked back, shocked to see Nora's chocolate covered face :)

Marlee is just a character. She is shy to meet people but calls everyone her friend. She couldn't be happier covered in dirt, mud, oil and food, but will scream bloody murder if water spills on her. She spent a good chunk of time digging out in the garden this week and throwing things into the pond. She loves to dig in the garden and find worms (barf). In fact She called me to the backyard a couple of times to show me her fist full of worms. I couldnt handle seeing them squeeze through the cracks of her fingers, ICK!

So a few days ago Marlee was putting her shoes on and was having a little difficulty. She started to whine and I told her that there was probably a better way to ask for help and to use good manners. To that she replied, "Ayudame please" I was literally shocked. I asked her to repeat what she said, and she did, "Ayuda me." I couldnt help but laugh and feel a little guilty that I let her watch too much tv, but at least it was somewhat educational. "Thats what you say when the cat gets stuck in the tree." She mumbled. Clearly Dora the Explorer is not completely useless :) "Ayudame" means "help me" in spanish and Marlee picked it up and used it perfectly in context! hahah Now, she has gone around the house saying "buenos diaz" before, but other than that she has never really implemented any spanish from Dora, so I thought it was quite funny! I called Darin and told him and we had a good laugh :)

Mar watching a show from up stairs

Our family

2012-01-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

These are just some photos I thought I had better document. We don't have many pictures of all of us together, or even many with me in them....(someone's got to take them right?)

This one is down at lake las vegas

In Marlee's room before church this morning...We put the camera on timer, resulting in a picture with only half of Nora. :(

Oh I know this is cheesy, but I thought it was cute that we all wore brown boots today...I guess we gotta keep our feet warm in this 75 degree weather ;)

I am so in love with this little girl! She STILL melts my heart

OOOOOH these two...

And still pretty smitten with this handsome guy!!! We are all so lucky to have each other.

Introducing...

2012-01-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

Baby Everett!

My newest nephew is ADORABLE!!!! I am editing some photos for Crystal and just couldnt resist taking a minute to post this! What a CUTIE!

peekaboo cont.

2012-01-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Peekaboo

2012-01-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

Nora has been loving peekaboo lately. She gets a real kick out of it! I lay her on her back and throw a blanket over her. She starts kicking those legs and laughing so hard! Its great. Also I put her in her crib and peek through the cracks...she thinks its hilarious!

My sisters

2012-01-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Im lucky to have two great sisters.

My big sister,

Crystal and I are opposites in a lot of ways
She obeys ALL the rules!
She IS a perfectionist - I just slap things together
She Has always been great at math - I....passed my math classes....mostly
She likes puzzles - Barf
She Has curly hair- mine is stick straight
She was the skinny girl growing up, I was the chubster
Etc....
I was always glad to be following her though. We were only one year apart in school so when I would get a new teachers at the beginning of the year who had her or knew her, I was always so proud and thought the teachers must like me more because I was Crystal's sister. She has always been a GREAT supporter. Through all my swimming years she rarely missed any meets, and even drug her own friends along to cheer for me at BYU. She let me live with her straight out of the dorms and showed me how to have some good clean fun. She Laughs more than most people and always makes me feel good about the stupid little jokes I crack. She is so very Good.

My little sister,

Jamie does NOT obey all the rules :) She is the feisty one.
She is quiet when you meet her but will have you rolling on the ground when she is comfortable around you.
Jamie NEVER likes to be left out
She is Fiercely loyal and extremely compassionate
She is competitive when it comes to athletics and working out
Jamie is the girl that you go to when you need someone on your side. She will "say" what you want to say, but know you shouldn't.
Jamie is two years younger than me but she will tell you that she never felt younger than crystal and I. Probably because she never wanted to be.
She is very easy going and doesn't let things get to her. She is confident with who she is.
Jamie has always been a GREAT supporter like crystal. Jamie and I spent a LOT of time driving to and from swim practice and in the water together. Locker rooms, weight rooms, airplanes during our BYU days. She has made me laugh through them all...This girl IS FUNNY!

Merry Christmas

2012-01-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

Time Efficient

2011-12-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that no one can ever accuse my man of being lazy, He listens to lectures in the car on his ipod, He studies while he rides the bike in the garage (using his ipad), He even bought an underwater radio to swim with so he can listen to his lectures while swimming, all for the sake of not losing any study time. Well, a week or so ago, I came back from California and my first morning home I hopped in the shower to find this!

Yep, He even studies in the shower!!!!

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is called being time efficient. hahaha

Mar

2011-12-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

When this girl is good she is pretty irresistible to us. This morning I hurt my back playing with her and she said, "Your back hurts really bad mom? Go lay down and I will rub it for you all better." So I laid down and she rubbed my back for about 15 seconds then said, "Feel all better momma?"

Last night Darin said, "How did you get so cute Marlee?" Marlee Replied "From you dad." Darin Laughed then asked, "How did Nora get so cute?" Marlee answered, "From mom."

Wild Sleeper

2011-12-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

It may not be a surprise that my little wild one is a WILD sleeper. She somehow ends up in our bed about 50% of the time and my stomach usually ends up as a pillow at some point, while Darin's face or head becomes of foot rest. To wake up with bruises for Darin and I is not uncommon (ok thats a stretch, but you get the idea).

Last week the girls and I were in California. Crystal had a baby shower and we thought we would stay and give Darin some study time. I thought I would have Marlee sleep in her own bed while we were there but she ended up crawling in with my parents so I figured it would be easiest to just have her sleep with me. We were sleeping on a bed that was not against a wall so we pulled a couch up next to one side of the bed, so Marlee wouldnt roll off. Unfortunately I didnt realize that the couch easily moved. So somehow there ended up being a crack between the bed and the couch and guess who I found sleeping down in there 3 times that night!?

I woke up and noticed she wasnt smashed against me like she normally is so I felt around, nothing. I sat up and was SO surprised to see her head down and feet straight up, in the crack. She was not making a peep. Still sound asleep (For who knows how long) she was happily snoozing pretty much in the headstand position. Something like this ( I had her stage this because I just couldn't believe it).

After I pulled her out by her ankles I went back to sleep only to wake up again to find her in almost the same position. (this time she was not entirely head down and feet up, but she would have been in a few minutes) Its like was like a snake that just kept slithering down!

The next time I woke up she was just kneeling next to the bed with her arms folded, totally in the praying position.

At one point she was also facing completely the wrong direction (feet in my face) as she was sliding off the bed. ( Needless to say, I got a pretty good workout that night from lifting her)

Let me paint you a picture

2011-12-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Marlee has been fighting naps lately. Last week on one such day, She was particularly determined to forgo her nap. After some adamant verbal expression to omit her nap she ended up locked in her room throwing a typical tantrum. Lots of screaming and crying. She started to bang on the door and I thought to myself "well thats a new tactic." The banging progressively got louder and louder until finally it was a full on thud. I couldn't believe what I heard! Clearly banging the door was not enough to get mom's attention, she began to body check herself into the door! So now she was screaming, crying, banging and body checking herself into the door. I resisted the impulse to open the door and scold her and after about ten minutes the intervals in which she was throwing herself on to the door slowed down. After all fire had ceased I waited a good fifteen minutes and then went to check on her. I wondered if she had exhausted herself and fallen asleep or if she possible had a concussion and was lying on the floor :) (jk) I slowly opened the door strategically so if she was awake she wouldn't be able to hear me. With the door cracked open ever so slightly I was fully expecting her to be asleep sprawled out like a wild thing. To my surprise she was laying in her bed reading a book in a variety of different outfits on top of each other, one dress, one skirt, one pair of pants, a long sleeve shirt and a bright pink headband worn "Rambo style" across her forehead. She had clearly been at war! After only a few seconds of silently looking at her, her eyes raised from her book, and without turning her head her eyes met mine and I received one of the most icy glares of my life! It lasted about 3 seconds and then her eyes returned to her book. I had no question as to what she thought of me so I silently shut the door. I will admit I laughed silently outside her door for a few minutes. I have also decided that she doesn't absolutely NEED a nap everyday. It baffles me that she doesn't need more sleep and the only thing I can think of is that she comes by her energy honestly ;)

What a Ham

2011-11-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

I was going through some photos from a shoot today and right in the middle I see these two pictures, and for some reason they made me laugh. No interest in taking pictures until Im trying to take some of other children.

This one really makes me chuckle! All I can think about is this picture of me, crystal and the neighbor kids in the backyard pool lined up on the stairs (goggles on forehead).

Presents

2011-11-19T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got some fun hats in the mail from Aunt Jamie! PRETTY DANG CUTE JAM! Or should I say Pretty JAM cute! ;) haha Thanks!

OK Bloom Family...Does the above picture not look like a clone of me as a baby!?!?!

What a champ!

Classic Big Sister Lovin

2011-11-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

Really mom!? Intervene!

My Spunky and Chunky Monkeys

2011-11-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well here's one of my little monkeys jumpin' on the bed! This girl loves to jump! She is a very physical girl. Loves running and jumping and rolling around with her dad. Each night when Darin comes home for dinner as soon as Dad walks in the door its, "Chase me daddy!" "Find me Dad!" Play Play Play! Marlee is the FUN one, just like her Dad!

And this little Monkey Just started eating rice cereal and quite likes it. She downs a big bowl pretty fast. I could tell she was ready to start solids since she has been salivating and grabbing my food on a regular basis. She was READY.

I pulled out the high chair since she is an "eater" now and it just about broke my heart. She is so tiny in this big chair. I cant believe she is already sitting in a high chair. I need to put in an official request for her to stay about 6 months forever. She is SUCH a JOY. She smiles about 95% of the day. She is a total mama's girl and boy she must know I need her to light up at the sight of me to get me through some of these days haha. I dont know what I would do without my sweet Nora!

35,670

2011-11-15T19:38:00.000-08:00

For the last few months my computer has been telling me that my startup disk is almost full. I was a little surprised, but just chalked it up to all the home videos we have on our computer. And because I am both technologically challenged and lazy, I have just been deleting things here and there so that on average I have about 3 GB available. Sad I know. Well I finally Manned up and decided something needed to be done, So I have been trying to burn pictures and dvd's of our family to get it off the computer....well turns out I noticed after two and a half years of having this computer and using iphoto, that there is a little trash can icon up at the top...and well it turns out if you dont take the trash out, well, you end up with a computer full of trash! 35,670 photos in the trash to be exact!!! I feel like my computer and I just did a cleanse. :)

Halloween

2011-11-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! I have never been big on Halloween, but I was excited to watch Marlee experience it all this year. When I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween and she said "Snow White," I jumped on it. I immediately found a costume on amazon and ordered it. Why did I rush into this? Because this is the first girly thing she has shown interest in and I will be honest, it got me a little excited. :) I had her costume about 3 weeks prior to Halloween and she wore it about 8 times before halloween...around the house, to the grocery store, when we carved pumpkins...you know, whenever she felt like it. So here is little Miss Snow White in all her glory.

And of course we can't have Snow White without a cute little Dwarf!

All the Thomas girls on halloween...

Dopey has NEVER looked cuter!

Love these girls

2011-10-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have these two beauties! Marlee is SOOO fun and has spunk, energy and is super smart AND Nora is my SWEET little angel.

Having said that, we have had lots of time outs lately and LOTS of tantrums which means lots of learning for mom. What have I learned? That Marlee cant control her urine when she gets a time out in the car. That I get quite embarrassed when She throws a tantrum in the store and I turn quite red. That kids are SNEAKY and learn fast, and that clearly I HAVE A TON MORE TO LEARN!

Right as I am starting to tell Marlee not to do something or that she needs a time out she is SO quick to say in her quivering voice, "Sorry mommy." I cant resist it most of the time. I have recently started to ask her what she is sorry for, and that little stinker KNOWS every time what she is doing wrong! Which means she just tries to get away with being naughty!

Sometimes I just want yell at her, but I have to think about how our Heavenly Father teaches us. Through consequences for our actions and in a loving way. Oh, that can be a challenge. BUT what a great challenge it is to have! I LOVE these girls!!!!!

These are just a couple random ones I snapped the other day

This one is kind of funny, but kind of cute too.

Perfection

2011-10-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about the pursuit of perfection. I know I need to be better in so many areas that it overwhelms me at times. I will admit that it is sometimes discouraging to see other people who already SEEM to have mastered the areas where I may struggle. I AM grateful that we all have strengths and weaknesses that we can share and help each other with, but I sometimes just feel like everyone has it together BUT me. It seems that along this quest for perfection I sometimes forget the areas that I TRULY need to be concentrating on, which is Ultimately being like the Savior. It is so easy to get caught up in the ways the world wants us to be perfect. At this particular time of my life some things I have noticed that there is a push for is to: Decorate you home in the cutest way, Have your kids wear the cutest clothes with the cutest bows, Be THINNER, Hand Make cute trendy clothes and items, and Basically every moment should look picture perfect and you should always try to make things LOOK better.

I will admit I like cute things, but really, they mean nothing. I LOVE pictures and I spend a little bit of time looking at various photographers pictures online, where everything seems so clean and perfect and beautiful, but the truth is, being clean and beautiful does not make a picture perfect, it makes a good looking picture. The expensive props and accessories are fun, but a picture is perfect to me if it can tell a story. I feel the same way about people. Some people just amaze me with their character and the stories they tell. I have been so lucky throughout my life to get to know some AMAZING people who have fallen to the floor laughing with me, Cried with me when things felt unfixable, rescued me when I needed help and have never cared what my house looks like, or what I was wearing or if my kid had a bow in her hair. :) And those are the people that motivate me to be perfect.

This is a picture to me that tells a story. Marlee and her friends.

And here is another picture that I think is absolutely perfect

Sisters!

2011-10-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Oh, I love my two little buttons. They are pretty fond of each other as well! Lately Marlee has been making Nora laugh a ton. And Marlee LOVES the audience. Whenever Marlee wants to preform a trick (such as jump off the couch or spin around) She demands Nora's attention. She will say, "Nora watch, Nora watch, Nora! Nora! Excuse me Nora!" Its pretty cute. Sometimes Marlee wants to be the ONLY one to make Nora laugh and smile though..."No! Only Marlee do it." :)

I have been doing some photo shoots lately and since my stuff was out I snapped a few of my girls :)

Gotta love those faces!!!

Jug

2011-10-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

My sister Jamie and her husband Doug are hilarious. They came to visit and we had lots of fun all weekend with them. I just realized that when combining their names it comes out to Jug. Hah! We went up to Red Rock with them on Sunday afternoon here are a few pictures from that outing. While they were here we also...Did a triathlon, played tennis, watched shows, ate Applebees, went shopping, made hats and headbands, went on walks....All in all, a pretty good time :)

An obvious favorite

Mar Loves Unkee Doug

Nora in one of the hats Jamie made

So here are a few hats that jamie whipped out...not all on this trip but some of them were. She is thinking about starting to sell them so if anyone wants one place an order let me know! I think she is going to sell them for $10. They are sooo cute, especially on my girls :) I LOVE the teal and yellow headbands.

And I totally made this little slogan up so this is NOT her real slogan...but perhaps it should be?

4 months

2011-10-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

4 MONTHS HOLY COW!

Nora Jane (not really her middle name but I think it fits) is SUCH a joy! She smiles and laughs and melts my heart. She has the bluest eyes and the best smile. We are SOOOOOOOO lucky to have her!

At her four month check up she was in the 20th percentile for weight...weighing 13 lbs I think, and 52 Percentile for head and length.

Oh, There's a feelin' in the air...

2011-10-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today felt like a fall day. The air was cool, familiar and exciting. It rained a few bursts of rain but for the most part was just cool and breezy. It was so refreshing. I remember living in utah and coming off of long winters, those first few days of spring that were so invigorating and exciting. You would see the kids out in the streets riding their bikes, the college kids laying on the grass trying to soak in every ounce of sun shine etc... Well here its that same feeling when it starts to cool down. Out in the streets kids play, adults out walking, it just feels good and exciting. Tonight Marlee couldn't get enough of playing outside on the porch and in the street. AND I cant blame her at all!

Finally some real smiles from this girl!

She got real excited about the airplanes tonight for some reason.

Again Showing me the airplanes

Boy, having a cast on her arm doesn't slow her down at all! :) Love her spunk.

Running around!

Showing off the dirt. This girl is NOT afraid to get dirty. In fact most of the time she is covered in dirt. People say she is just being a kid, but she is SOOOO dirty! ALL the time! The girl just likes to have fun I guess...

Her feet look like this probably more than they should...does that make me a bad mom?

Throwing rocks...

HAHA so we have a fun fire hydrant in front of our house and tonight Marlee did this and then turned to me and said, "Marlee's special seat."

And then she ran over to the rock and said she was going to go to sleep on it. She frequently assumes this position on the stairs because she wants to be like the little girl (grettle) in the sound of music (The sun has gone to bed and so must I...)

So long fairwell...

new floor, new photos

2011-09-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to test out my new floor for pictures so I asked Marlee to put a bow in her hair. This was her response.

Pictures lasted about five minutes...

Marlee's friend Avery was over this afternoon and I absolutely love that Marlee has real friends. Friends that she doesn't just play next to anymore. Friends that she talks with and laughs with. These two were cracking me up tonight with silly faces. Avery is one of Marlee's Favorites.

A matter of time...

2011-09-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Guess who has a new bright pink accessory on her arm???

My little wild one! The funny thing is she wasn't being wild..neither was daddy.

Here is the quick story:

Daddy was playing with Marlee

Daddy lifted Marlee up by one arm

Daddy heard a pop but thought nothing of it

Marlee kept playing and showed no sign of pain

Daddy saw swollen Elbow

Daddy asked Marlee if it hurt

Marlee said, "No"

Daddy took Marlee to Urgent Care

Doctor Reset the elbow

Marlee Screamed

Daddy asked Doctor when swelling would go down

Doctor said, "Thats what's funny, Shouldn't be swelling with dislocated elbow"

Doctor Did x-ray

Daddy looked at X-ray, and said it looked good

Daddy NOT going into radiology

Marlee got pink cast

So there was a teeny hairline fracture and Marlee gets to wear a fun cast for another 3 weeks or so. In Darin's Defense the doctor said they almost missed it, it was so small :) Im glad It wasn't painful for Marlee, without the swelling we would never have known! And Honestly I figured it was just a matter of time before something like this would happen...I've got two wild ones in this house and Im just shocked it happened while they were being relatively calm!

Nora Bug

2011-09-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Darin and Marlee stepped out yesterday to deliver cookies so I got some one on one with little Nora. She really is so sweet.

you gotta get a little mud on the tires

2011-09-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went up to Utah to visit Darin's Parents and go to the BYU vs. Utah game. Well we will focus on the good parts of that trip... :)

Darin arranged for us to take the four wheelers up the mountain with Jamie and Doug. It was Really a lot of fun and so beautiful...well the mountain and scenery was beautiful...us not so much...Take a look.

Doug, Jamie, Shannon, Marlee, and Darin...Marlee did not come and yes that is splint on her arm...Thats a whole other post.

I thought this was an awesome picture...Not only beacuase of jamies great smile :) but you can See all of us in it. In the right lens of her glasses you can see me taking the picture and in the left lens you can see the boys unloading the four wheelers...pretty cool huh?

Kisses

Darin and I charging through the mud...Oh, it was AWESOME.

Darin and I charging...again

...and again.

When almost every inch of you is covered in mud you know it was fun!

Kisses

Jamie and Doug...He is totally sticking his tongue out...How did that taste Doug???

Tongue Still out

A wall of mud

I have to say, my favorite part of this trip was riding up the mountain and through the mud...My favorite part of the mud was Jamie's Faces...SOOOO PRICELESS!

When Jamie came rolling up THIS happy I literally fell to the ground laughing! I was DYING! Her skin looked black and She had these gleaming white teeth...Oh, PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!

I actually think we look like eachother covered in mud! Who knew thats all it would take... haha

SoooOOOOooo Fun!

Buddies

2011-09-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

Im really excited for these two to become buddies, hopefully they have already started too.

Today

2011-09-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "This kid is driving me CRAZY!"

Enough said??...

Up To??

2011-09-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

What we have been up to...in photos

Being Sneaky

Being a messy but good girl. Drinking our vegetables (complements of the hamilton beach...we shall call him Hammy)

Being Happy

Being cute

Being acrobatic

Being Compliant

Being my model. New hair cut (well new bangs anyway)

Being irresistible

Being a ham

Being a big girl

Being Marlee

Not much going on. Darin is busy at school and I am busy at home. Marlee is getting funnier and funnier (maybe just to me??) and Nora is such a joy. Some days I want to hold both of them all day long and some days I want to pull all my hair out. Such is life. I am VERY lucky to have some awesome friends to keep me sane with Darin being gone so much. I am almost starting to feel like I can go out in public with both kids now...that first time was a little traumatic :) Marlee was running around the store like the wild child she is and ended up with a bloody nose and lip and Nora was screaming bloody murder the entire time. Somehow things have slowly improved. Thank Goodness! I felt like a champion today at Costco when I left with no major catastrophes! CHAMPION!

For D

2011-08-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Darin,

When school is hard and you feel like everyone understands it all and you don't, Just remember... Probably none of those guys can do THIS!

You are the coolest! LOVE YA!

6 words

2011-08-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

Im going to be honest, Over the past four years Darin has done more cooking than I have. In fact, there seems to be a trend in my family where the men do a lot of the cooking. . . Id like to say its because we Bloom girls excel in so many other areas that we are just giving them an opportunity to contribute, But in my case thats total hogwash! COOKING TOTALLY OVERWHELMS ME! I have this problem where I don't think about meals until its too late. Once I am hungry, I need food now! Anyone who has ever been pregnant can probably relate to that feeling...well I suffer from something similar to that regardless if there is a baby growing inside me :) And So when I get that feeling and I walk into the kitchen, and I cant whip up a sandwich or pasta, or crackers, or my life long go-to, a bean burrito, or anything pre-made and frozen from the store I panic and I get overwhelmed! Its usually about then that my wonderful husband steps in to rescue me and make me something. (I lack creativity when it comes to cooking). Anyway, I have really been trying to change lately...To take control if you will. Anyway I have recently discovered that cooking can kind of be messy! So after much thought and a few splattered shirts, I uttered 6 words to my husband that kind of shocked him, "I think I need an apron." He agreed and later that night he started ~~laughing~~ cracking up and I asked him what was so funny, "Oh i just NEVER thought I would hear you say those words...I think I need an apron." REAL FUNNY DARIN! :-) He better watch out cuz Im about to blow his mind with my new Domestic skills!

Reasons why Im pooped

2011-08-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hot Dang two kids keeps me busy! But they are SOOO worth it :-)

So a little bit about the girls... Nora will just smile at you until your cheeks hurt from smiling back at her...There is no remedy for the cheek pain, trust me, I've tried not to smile back at her...it doesn't work! When she is fussy I bounce and rock her...she wont go down without a fight, I have recently discovered that she LOVES to be sung to!!! At first it was just plain adorable to see her go from grouchy face to smiley face when I started to sing. It really boosted my singing confidence. In fact she even giggles now when I sing to her and I realized she is probably just laughing at MY VOICE!!! The little stinker! I went from feeling so proud that my singing made her happy, to really embarrassed haha jk. Its pretty comical though TO HEAR ME SING, and then to SEE HER REACTION.

Marlee is the proudest big sister I know. Well I guess I prefer to say proud over possessive. If anyone wants to take a peek at Nora, they have to get through Marlee first! "MY NORA!" is a common phrase we hear around here. Marlee is a pretty big Ham these days and is very particular. She is also very sneaky! She can often be found hiding something she isn't supposed to have behind her back. She is a really good helper, letting me know when "Nora's Cryin." She often runs to get the binky, diapers, wipes, bottle, diaper bag, etc. This girls still prefers to not wear clothes or bows. Her favorite snack these days is a "pockykical" (any kind of popsicle). Marlee is learning how to do baby talk...it's cute to hear her speak high and soft to Nora.

Marlee Snuck mommy's Make up and put some on her eye. hahaha. One word, BUSY!

I love to see the Temple

2011-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Marlee has really taken an interest in Temples lately. She sings the primary song "I love to see the temple" all the time. So the other day we went and visited our (Las Vegas) Temple. We walked around and then went to the park near by and had breakfast with our friends the Crowthers.

I cut my hair, but this is a bad picture of it.

Nora is still the cutest

Dad and his girls

Im not sure why these pictures are blurry...I think the resolution is too low when i upload them...They are nice and crisp in my photo album :) Dont have to time to go back and make them look sharp...both kids are sleeping and these moments are still pretty rare :)

Adora Nora

Marlita so sweeta

Yeah, I married a stud.

Beach

2011-08-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Life is good!

Our little gangster

Oatmeal will never be the same...Darin makes a fantastic sweet cinnamon raison apple oatmeal...

We had some at the beach one morning

In no particular order

2011-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some things we have been up to in the last two months...none of which are in order...whoops :)

Marlee now has ponytail length hair! Wahoo!

Nora has been doing well on her tummy (Unlike Marlee who struggled for a LONG time to lift that MELON!

A few days old! Too cute

Grandma and Grandpa Thomas with the girls. They came to visit when Nora was about 2 weeks old

The Fourth of July was celebrated. We went to the Boulder City parade in the morning, and Partied at our friends the Featherstones in the evening

Marlee Turned two when we visited family in Arizona! Her birthday breakfast :)

Nora Takes baths...Not sure how she feels about it quite yet.

Nora Bundled up at our beach house. We had a fun week at the beach (it was a little chillier than id hoped)

Ive decided to give Marlee the middle name 'Scout' because she just reminds me of that busy explorative tomboy type girl in "to kill a mockingbird" well the way i pictured her anyway...shoes off, hair a mess, running around in the summer all sweaty... :) hahah gotta love being a kid.

Marlee loving the beach and her pb&j

Momma and Nora at the beach house

Too much fun

This is the one time i got in that ICE COLD water, it was a fun five minutes of screaming my head off and clinging to Darin for dear life...That water was SOO cold!!!

A lot to learn

2011-08-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

I feel so lucky to have my two awesome girls. They are both so special and so sweet in their own ways. It is very fun to see their differences and Boy are they different! Physically they are almost opposites. Marlee is a big girl while Nora is more petite. But other things are kind of funny too. Marlee was the most mellow easy going baby ever. She would lay by herself and be perfectly content and happy...sweet Nora loves attention and being held and she likes to ask for it if we forget:) Marlee would also freak out every time we changed her diaper and, well, Nora will freak out UNTIL we change her diaper...little things like that make me happy and smile at their differences reminding me that they are individuals.

It has been hitting me hard lately,the weight of my responsibility with these two girls, and I have to admit I have my moments where I feel like a total failure. Marlee can be so challenging sometimes with throwing fits and constantly getting in to everything. I know she needs extra effort and attention and well, a game plan really, but I can't always provide that. Today she was so stir crazy I finally agreed to go on a walk and we got all ready, but then only made it as far as the garage before both girls were in hysterics. I'm quite terrified for Darin to go back to school on wednesday. This year is supposed to be Extremely hard academically and he is going to have to be gone a lot studying (a lot is probably an understatement). Unfortunately i just feel very unprepared for him to go back. Im sure it will be fine... I think I just feel guilty that I am not on the ball like so many other women are. And I hope the number of days I go to bed feeling like I fell short that day are fewer and fewer. I really am grateful to have had Darin this summer and grateful he is receiving a good education that will provide a great job soon! We are so blessed and I really take comfort in knowing I can do better and be a better mom tomorrow. "tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it" (Anne Shirley- Anne of green gables).

All Things Nora

2011-07-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

Is it at all obvious that we are pretty crazy about this little munchkin?!?!

Grandma Thomas made this BEAUTIFUL blessing dress for Nora. It really is a gorgeous dress and Im so glad Nora will have it for HER little munchkins one day! Thanks Alvaretta!!!!

These fun bows are compliments of my friend Lisa. She makes some CUTE ones, check them out at Leelalou.blogspot.com Thanks Lisa!!!!

I am just so in love with her!

Please excuse me in all the upcoming photos...I just thought Nora was too cute not to post these!

Nora will copy you if you smile at her or if you stick your tongue out. Its pretty fun!

She looks like a little babydoll to me in this picture :-) (another one of Lisa's bows)

Thank Goodness for camera phones

2011-07-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Without the camera phone literally attached to my mom's hip, these little beauties wouldn't have been captured...

This is what i have been spending a lot of time doing these days...can you blame me?

Thing one and Thing 2 :-) Love them!

4 generations

My baby picture...Im convinced that Nora looks like me (but I'm thinking she might have a Thomas nose)

A little bit of Sugar

2011-07-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

We are on vacation...We spent a week at the beach, a few days here at my parents and are on our way up to Utah for a few days as well (gotta squeeze all the fun in before we go back to the grind)...We have taken lots of good pictures to document our fun times so far, But for now enjoy this little delight...We are SOOO in love with her!

By the way, we looked at my newborn pictures while at my parents house, and Im pleased to say She ACTUALLY looks like me!!! Kind of fun, since Marlee looks totally like her dad!

The Fabulous Two's

2011-07-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

Marlee Turned 2 on June 23. Here is a quick Summary of our 2 year old!

Marlee Loves Elmo and Dora. She EXPLORES EVERYTHING. She is starting to be very imaginative. Her favorite foods are Fruit and Rice. She sings "Happy birthday to Marlee" Over and Over and Over. Every night before she goes to sleep she wants us to lay down by her and "talk one minute." She prefers to be "nakey." She is a wonderful big sister and rushes to put Nora's binky back in whenever Nora cries. She loves to Tickle anyone. She is Diaper free, Binky free, and sleeps in a big girl bed! She is our little sensitive girl (can be very emotional). She randomly asks for hugs and likes to give them. She knows most of her letters and the sounds they make. She counts to ten. She is probably messier than most kids (which is MESSY!) She pulls out any ponytails and bows I put in her hair within about 5 minutes. She loves to walk around in my shoes. She definitely keeps us on our toes and has a lot of energy! She is very smart and surprises me and makes me laugh everyday! Marlee is sweet and has a tender heart and we just love her to pieces.

At her 2 year Doctors visit her stats were:

Height: 37 inches (99th percentile)
Weight: 32 pounds (95th percentile)
Head: 19.5 inches (95th percentile)

Officially our Big girl!

Our happy girl!

Lucky to get a smile...She prefers to be playing over posing

Exploring, Exploring, Exploring!

Photoshoot

2011-06-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

These were taken a about a week and a half ago. The fabulous Melynda helped me and took them, she is so good! I edited them, but she probably would have done better :) One day I hope to have her skills, and her camera :)

I am a very proud momma of two great girls that is for sure!

Sleep

2011-06-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

On Sleep:

Nora does it during the day (not at night)

Marlee doesnt want to go to bed at night and crawls out of bed several times before she actually goes down, pushing her bed time back WAY too far.

Shannon and Darin Just want MORE of it!

Its probably between 9 and 10 before Marlee actually falls asleep these days and by that point Darin and I are wiped out from trying to get our little angel down...And guess who wants to wake up and be all alert and active and held right around this time??? haha We are going to have to figure out how to have two kids and get the sleep we want.

Oh and we really have to pick our battles these days. Our little Marlee is quite the feisty, emotional, dramatic girl these days :) She is usually running around in her underwear because not wearing clothes isnt life threatening. Sometimes we have to remind her to keep her undies on.

Things are going great though. Marlee Loves baby Nora and wants to tickle and hold her. We are very happy!

Couldn't Wait

2011-06-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today My friend Melynda and I took some pictures of Nora. She is a much better photographer than I, but I just couldn't wait to get her pictures...I just had to post one of mine. What a cutie. I love my sweet Nora.

Nora

2011-05-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

On May 24, 20011 We welcomed Sweet Nora Thomas into the world! She weighed 8 lbs even and was 20.5 inches long. Here's How it went down....

This pregnancy has been pretty brutal to me and towards the end was no exception. A few weeks ago I had begun to have some nerve pain down my back side every once and a while. It was not fun but tolerable. I had experienced this with Marlee as well. However, it became so severe that it would send me screaming and crying to the floor. Now I know Im not the toughest girl in the world but there was NO gritting my teeth to get through this pain. It took control of me every time I would have an "attack." Luckily I had some friends and family help out so I could spend the last week or so in bed trying not to move, in order to prevent this nerve pain. I asked the doctor to be induced because I was in such pain and the soonest he could do it was a full week and a day away. Not my idea of an answer to the problem. Anyway, went back in and asked again and they fit me in the following day.

Of course I was nervous and had every thought running through my head "Is she ready to come?" "Am I being selfish?" "Will this time be better than last?" etc. Well the morning arrived and I woke up to a phone call at 5 am saying they didn't have an open bed for me and that they would call me back and let me know when they could fit me in. "UGH!" Of course! I was sad, feeling guilty that my mom had driven up the previous night and was planning on heading back that night after the birth and discouraged. Much to my relief they called me back around 8:30 that morning and said, "Come on in." We Have some great friends who took Marlee for two and a half days...THANKS NATE AND CAMI! Pretty sure Marlee had more fun there than she has with us.

They hooked me up and got me going. I got an epidural and was grateful for that! When I was dilated to about a 7 they told me she was posterior and my heart sank! Marlee was posterior and I attributed a lot of the delivery complications (or at least my own trauma) to that. Everyone told me this was a new pregnancy and THAT would NOT happen again. I was really hoping they were right! Anyway, I was pretty stressed about that so I asked Darin for a blessing and then felt a little better. (so grateful for my husband) I was at a nine and felt like I needed to push. The doctor was not there yet so I was again a little nervous. I called the nurse in and told her I was probably paranoid but I felt pressure and like I needed to push. She stayed in there and got things ready. As soon as the doctor got there I pushed and in about 10 minutes the baby was out and the doctor was on his way! (In time to pick up his wife from relief society) It was awesome! It was SOOOOO nice to have things go smooth and easy this time, what a BLESSING! Today we went to the doctor for a newborn app. and found out that nora's head size is in the 20th percentile (either 20 or 40-my brian is going)....Marlee's was 97th! Im sure that is one reason this time went a little smoother :)

Anyway, we are all happy and well and have 8 weeks before Darin has to go back to school. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Introducing Little Miss Nora...

2011-05-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

She's HERE and we love her!

34 miles down 2600 to go

2011-05-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Im not sure why, but I have had this talk on my mind lately. Maybe its because I have been struggling to get through some of my days. Maybe its because I know things will soon get better, Maybe its because I have seen other people struggling to get through their days. Whatever the reason I just wanted to share it. Last night after a hard day I started to think about what's really important and how I have got it all. The Gospel, An amazing healthy hardworking husband who treats me great, A beautiful healthy, smart and loving daughter, Another sweet spirit coming our way in just a matter of days. Great support from Family. The potential to be healthy and pain free pending on circumstances and decisions I make.

I will admit these past 9 months I have found myself, a time or two, needing to know that things will get better. That there can be joy in the journey, and that we will make it past our 34 miles. We still have a long way to go and Im SURE there will be times where it feels like this road is never ending, but Im grateful I have the best husband and family to share this road trip with. What a beautiful thing it is to know that "the blessings will come and It will be alright in the end" whatever we are going through...

Easter Cont.

2011-05-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

After our Easter Bunny Adventures on Saturday we drove over to the beach where we spent a few hours. It was AWESOME. Marlee absolutely LOVED it...so did Mommy and Daddy :) Running from the waves was SOOOO exciting for this girl (and her daddy, lets be honest). I took lots of pictures...As I usually do, so don't be surprised if you see more later from this trip :)

Easter Part 1

2011-05-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

For Easter we were down in California. We met up with our friends Elisabeth and Tyler down in Tustin and went to some Easter Festivities with them. It was lots of fun...except when we got a little too close to the easter bunny :) Here are some pictures in no particular order.

A little scary...She would not sit down with the easter bunny.

She stayed and watched him after though. This was a much safer distance! She kept waving to him and saying "Easter Bunny!" For the past week and a half she has been talking about how she saw the Easter bunny and he was big and how she waved to him and he waved back to her. :)

They had a petting zoo which was so awesome. Goats, bunnies, ducks, pigs, a camel, a bull, a llama, pony rides, a turtle etc...

Back at my parents house we dyed easter egss...Six adults helping out one Marlee... She owns us.

I think this was her favorite egg...It was a happy face with a mustache on it, just like BOPPA!

The Princess and The Frog

2011-04-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

We have been in California this week to help after my Dad's Foot surgery. Darin was cleaning out the pond for my dad and we found a little prince for Marlee :)

Like most men, I think this little guy has some wooing to do before he wins Marlee over...

Darin doing the dirty work...There were tons of weeds and mossy bushes he had to pull out. :) Im sure it made him feel like a man to get dirty :) We had to hold Marlee back because she wanted to jump right in and help.

blankets

2011-04-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

About 4 years ago Darin and I were at a BYU swim meet. There were little towels with the byu "Y" on them and they placed all over the bleachers for the fans to wave around. Darin thought it would be cool to "collect" them (aka steal them) and make an awesome byu blanket/quilt out of them. Back then I think he still had high hopes that I might have untapped domestic and crafty potential...he was wrong. Anyway, we have held on to these towels for four years in hopes of making a blanket out of them. Well, this year for our anniversary, my dear sweet husband MADE ME THE BLANKET! He went over to a friend of ours (who actually is Very crafty and talented) and had her show him how to do it! He even had the towels dyed pink (in honor of our little girls and me). Our 4 year anniversary is on May 5th, but neither of us can ever wait when we have a gift for each other. I Love that he had the vision to make a blanket in the first place, I LOVE that he MADE ME a blanket! I LOVE that he dyed the towels pink because he is far outnumbered by girls. I LOVE that sat at a sewing machine for this. What a stud!

This same friend who helped Darin out with the quilt ALSO made me a baby blanket for our little one to come! AND I LOVE IT! It is sooooo cute and these pictures don't do it justice!

I feel so spoiled to have a great husband and great friend who would do this for me!!!! Thanks Darin and Bethany!

Beauty in the Desert

2011-04-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Now THATS a good view!

BIg Girl 1 and Big Girl 2

2011-04-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Big Girl #1... Darin and I dressed up for a little Hollywood Birthday Bash the other day. We were Juno and Pauly Bleaker...Yes, Im getting big!

Big Girl #2. Little Miss Marlee is Now sporting Dora Undies! (she Love Dora) We started potty training last tuesday and She hasn't worn a diaper since! I had very mixed feelings about potty training her right now. First off, I am all over the place with the way I am feeling and I don't like to commit to things when I don't feel well. Second, She hadn't really shown any interest in sitting on the potty. Third, She can be quite stubborn and throws a mean tantrum. So I figured with all of these things combined I didn't really want to "deal" with it. But my friend Bethany convinced me to get started and that I WILL NOT want to be buying diapers for two kids. So I sucked it up and we dove right in. Tuesday morning we threw all her diapers away! (we put them in a trash bag and I hid them in the garage, because I was too scared to actually get rid of them.) I followed a 3 day program, and yes the first two and a half days were quite tiring and we did lots of laundry. But we have not had any accidents in the last 2 days and the last three nights! Im so proud of my big girl! Today was our first day out. We went to church and she went twice on the big potty! It still takes a lot of energy, since I can barely fit myself in a bathroom stall right now, and since she tends to cry wolf a little more frequently than I'd like, But I really am pleased we are done with diapers.

In other news...She sported her first real ponytail the other day... Granted, you cant even see it in these pictures, but She really does have one back there!

I think she has been pretty proud of her going on the potty as well, because she has been extra happy lately giving lots of hugs and kisses :) Or maybe its all the fruit snacks she has been getting as a reward for going potty. . . Hmmm. . . This girl likes her "nacks"

Proof

2011-04-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

I am not really proud of the way I look these days, but I don't have one picture to prove that I am in fact pregnant. So this may be the only one...and yes I had to do it myself...its not on the top of my priority list when Darin is around. And nope, not making this a big picture... :) Less than 8 weeks folks!

Boston and Marlee

2011-04-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Step 1: THE LOOK

Step 2: CONTACT

Step 3: EXCITEMENT

Step 4: EXCITEMENT WORN OFF

Step 5: TAKING INITIATIVE

Step 6: FINDING COMMON INTERESTS

Step 7: HAVING FUN TOGETHER!!!

All kidding aside Marlee and Boston are great buddies! Marlee lights up every time I say his name and tell her she gets to play with him. We had a fun day yesterday at the wetlands, it was sunny and hot...We even had to pull out the sunscreen for our little pigment challenged kiddos! :)

Picture Perfect...no such thing...

2011-03-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

So I had this idea...a vision, if you will. Of Marlee in Her cute blue and white polka dot dress with a matching blue bow in her hair, Standing out in the desert weeds in the perfect sunshine looking so sweet and angelic. Any guesses on how it actually went down???

Ha! NO BOW! She screamed every time I tried to sneak on the headband (to the point of tears). So I gave up on that. Ok, I can deal with my little tomboy not wanting bows in her hair. How about a smile Marlee? NOPE, no smiles, she only wanted to drink her water and eat her snacks. How about we go stand by the weeds? Nope, She wanted to climb the fences and play in the dirt! Ok I could tell this wasnt the morning for a photo shoot, But is a little eye contact too much to ask?! She is almost two so I dont expect her to stand still, I tried to be tricky and clever but every time I posed her where I wanted her by the time I waddled back to take the picture she was long gone...

All in all I guess you can this a success since she actually IS wearing the dress right? Im not sure how I managed THAT much! Don't worry we changed shortly after my failed attempts to get her to look at me and smile. We still had a fun morning with our friends down at the wetlands. Kids will be kids...It was a nice idea though, maybe when she's older???

I think she is thinking she is actually higher than she is...haha...

What a cute little sassy stinker :)

California and Cuteness

2011-03-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

California Visit

We got to see G.G. for a day when we were down in Cali

The tree in my parents backyard was in full bloom and beautiful...every morning it was a shocker to look out the window and see THAT.

Our curious little girl, trying everything...

AND...Some Cute pictures from out walk today.

Yep, Its hard not to kiss those cheeks!

Single Digits!

2011-03-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

Let the countdown begin! As of yesterday I only have 9 weeks to go! Being in the single digits it very liberating...and slightly deceitful. It sounds like nothing...but still means two full months of literally rolling myself out of bed every morning.. :) But I will take it!

Quick update...Marlee and I went to california for a week and a half...had fun but got sick :( Marlee's eyes somehow got infected and we had to come back early. She is doing better now! I also ended up throwing up all morning one day...possibly from something I ate???

I got a new calling on sunday! And Im SO excited about it... Just call me Madam LIBRARIAN!!! I think I will have to pull out my fake glasses for this one! I have never had this calling but apparently this is where they put the pregnant women in our ward...the three other women are pregnant in there...(one just had a baby).

Darin Has his big test week this week...Every 6 weeks this dreaded week comes. We are Rooting for him at home though! We are all anxious for this summer!

Worth a thousand words...

2011-03-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

So here are a few more, I just cant help it. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I like pictures, and I like my daughter...add those up and you get a blog full of pictures of Marlee... One day I plan on having more to say but hopefully never any less to look at...I think pictures can tell a much better story than I can.

The End...

Cheeseball Face

2011-03-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Sunshine

2011-03-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today I was feeling ambitious. We went to 2 different parks, enjoyed the fabulous weather and snapped a few photos. I was ambitious in that I pulled my camera out and went to the park a second time to take some pictures...haha, that hasn't happened in a LONG time. We got a couple fun pictures (although I feel quite rusty) and I will have to post them later. Here are two for now. I love my girl.

3 Months To Go...

2011-03-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

So at Seven months pregnant I can officially say I have been sick for ALL seven months! The first five were actually due to the pregnancy, These past two have been cold/flu, but don't be fooled, the cold/flu months have been brutal as well!

Its been really hard not to get discouraged these past several months. Marlee has been sick for the past 2 months as well, between her and I we have been to the doctor 7 times in the last 51 days. Right now she has a pretty wheezy cough and low fever, (the doctor also thinks she has some asthma issues) and I currently have bronchitis. OH, and by the way, I read when you get sick while you are pregnant it lasts longer and is usually more severe....I BELIEVE IT!

So with that being said, I feel like I should make a paper chain (like we used to in grade school) to count down to the big day...This baby is going to come right when Darin gets out of school for the summer, So it really is good timing! I also am really excited to have 2 girls! So, Here's hoping that the end of may comes really fast!...or to be safe, the beginning of June.

Good Morning!

2011-02-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

This is what I woke up to this morning...I came down stairs and found Darin and Marlee kicking around hundreds of paper cups. Then Daddy built a wall for Marlee to destroy. Oh Fun.

Thanks For letting me sleep in and keeping our munchkin busy this morning Hon!

These Days

2011-02-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

For the record...

Darin: Still studying HARD...Long days at the school...He gets up at 4:00a.m. and has a little morning routine (workout, study, etc)... Then he heads to school around 6am...I think that's when it opens and he stays there til about 6pm. Then he comes home and rescues me for about an hour then goes back to studying (either from home or back to school...I prefer him studying from home in the evenings. Block week is a different story though...

Shannon: My days revolve around our cute little one who gets more sass everyday! Interesting how I have less patience everyday too... :) I am getting pretty round in the middle and feeling uncomfortable already. Most days we try to get out, go for walks, go watch the lizards outside on the wall, or go visit a friend...I pretty much just try to keep the little one entertained and not let the house get TOO out of control.

Marlee: Her favorite things to do these days are

-look for lizards on our wall outside

-throw rocks

-go for walks

-put on mommy's chap stick, deodorant, necklace, makeup, bra (you name it)

-Spin in the desk chair

-do somersaults

-go look at the puppies at the pet store (and all the other animals)

-EAT FRUIT any and all she loves. She will always ask for a "nack or num num"

She knows most of the alphabet and the sounds the letters make, we are still working on a few though. She will point out letters wherever we go, even while we are driving she is not hesitant to tell me if she see's an "M" or an "A" on big signs on the road.

She still is a clone of her daddy...and acts more and more like him everyday...FULL OF ENERGY!

She prefers to be "nakey" but if she HAS to wear clothes she must be the one to put them on. Which makes for interesting outfits :) When she wears a jacket expect the hood to be on.

She doesn't like bows in her hair and HATES water on her head...Bath time is a struggle when we try to wash her hair. I'm talking about a full on meltdown every time her hair gets wet.

She loves to have mommy sing songs to her in the car...right now her favorite is "im so glad when daddy comes home" Sometimes when Darin and I are singing in the car she will tell us "no" or "stop." hahaha So I guess it depends on her mood. (usually its daddy she tells...which is funny because his singing voice is much better than mine!)

Oh just because...

2011-02-19T17:59:00.000-08:00

Oh how she loves to put chapstick on...

Really mom? Another picture?! Doesnt she look like a teenager in this picture giving me a LOOK!

Throwing rocks is a favorite thing to do around here.

V-Day

2011-02-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

We aren't much of Valentiners around here...I got darin some socks and I also bought a new pair of shoes that We decided would be from him to me. How romantic right? We tried to go to dinner as a family to celebrate a little early and it ended with a screaming kid taking a time out in the car and Boxing up our meals to take home and eat....We also got our cute little one a new swim suit...it was perfectly appropriate being that it was pink and all...right? Anyway, here is our little swim suit model. I think she liked her gift the most! She wanted to put it right on and run around the house in it. She kept rubbing that yummy belly to feel how soft the her new suit was :)

I have to say this is the classic Marlee pose. She sucks in her belly and is so goofy sometimes.

All in all we are in love around here! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A favorite Activity

2011-02-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

This video was taken several months ago...Oh the fun they have!

Old News

2011-02-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

We took M to disneyland at the beginning of December. It was a fun day, But Neither Darin or Myself are fans of long lines and lots of people. The highlights were the Carousel ride for Marlee, and the Turkey leg and corn of the cob for Darin and Shannon. It was fun but we were really glad we had free tickets!

Typical Evening

2011-01-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

Funny girl

2011-01-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

This was a couple months ago...Gotta love your kids laughing!

3 reasons why...

2011-01-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

3 Reasons why I am the luckiest...

#1 She's cute

#2 She's Sweet

#3 She smells good

(totally caught her doing this when I was getting ready the other day)

Front Porch

2011-01-19T14:37:00.001-08:00

It has been absolutely Lovely here. We could not ask for better weather in January...or all year round for that matter. We have been wearing short sleeve shirts for the past week, Its awesome.

Marlee has really started to love to draw. We pull out the chalk quite frequently and sit on the porch and draw pictures (mostly sesame street characters).

Sometimes we sit on the porch and throw rocks or wait for Daddy to come home

Any reason to sit on the porch is acceptable.

We are just getting over a bad cold...but are still getting our fresh air. We have been going for walks, porch sits, to the park etc. We love our warm Henderson weather!

This is just for kicks...Im trying to teach Marlee to say "cheese" for the camera.

before i forget...

2011-01-12T09:54:00.001-08:00

18 months
We had Marlee's 18 month check up last week.
She was in the 70-90% range for everything.
She weighed 27 lbs 11 oz.
She was 33.25 inches long.
And no idea about her head size but it matches the rest of her :)
Its pretty sad that she knows to be afraid of the doctors and nurses when they walk in. It kind of breaks my heart to see her get so nervous and squirm with fear. We actually didnt even end up getting any shots this time around, so that was a relief!!! I still let her have a sucker for the ride home though :) What a softy I am. Anyway, She is a healthy kid! Well except for right now she has a cold! We have had a rough couple days with a bad cold. Hopefully it passes quickly!

If You're Happy and You Know it...

2011-01-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Marlee has a little toy dog that talks and plays music. It is UNREAL how excited she got today when he started to sing "If your Happy and you Know it." Gotta love those moments :)

This is Marlee's Official First "Cheese Face." I have never told her to say Cheese for the camera before, But I might need to start! :)

We went over to Ryder's House the other day (yes in our pajamas) and had a fun time. Marlee Loves "Ryrer" as she likes to call him and is always so excited to see him...But, She can be a little bossy around him...He just takes it like a champ and likes her in spite of it all :)

Marlee is a little possesive of a few things...well, anything that belongs to her...but she has no problem letting other kids share with her! We are working on sharing "Marney's" toys :) haha no, she has actually gotten a lot better...still a work in progress though.

Fun Fun Fun Girl!

We're Having....

2010-12-14T20:23:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER GIRL!!!!!!!

Wahoo! We love sisters!! Darin has six of them and I have 2 which are and have always been my best friends, so we couldn't be happier.

So we went in today and got to see our little girl flipping around in there. She is already a big time kicker, I have felt her a lot! Anyway, while we were there, they gave me a new due date, May 29. My original due date was May 17, and if any of you have talked to me at all in the past 4 months you can guess what my reactions was. NOT happy...call me crazy but every day, NO, every hour counts this time around! It HAS NOT been a breeze.

While these last 4 months have been VERY challenging, I have also had some great help. There is a handful of women in my ward and friends from med school, who have really been so kind to me watching Marlee, giving me time to rest, and bringing me meals! This help has been VERY much appreciated and made me love these ladies even more! Im sooo lucky to have such great friends and to know such kind people!

Yep, She's Still Got it!

2010-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Oh how we LOVE that belly!

We love the park

2010-12-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

So our plan was to go up to Utah for Thanksgiving, but due to snowy traveling conditions we decided to head south instead. We went to disneyland and spent Thanksgiving with the Bloom Family. One day we went to the park and took some pictures. Marlee sure likes the park!

Bathtime

2010-11-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

My mom took this picture with her phone tonight. She drove up today to help out. I have been pretty sick and wiped out. Then she drove back tonight. What a stud! We love her!

feeling icky...

2010-11-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a really rough day for me. I felt soooo sick all day, couldn't function. Had no food in the house, but was too sick to attempt the store. Darin had two tests today and it is his block week, so I really didnt want to bug him. Marlee must have sensed I was not doing too hot, cuz she was such a sweetie. She would run up to me and give me hugs throughout the day and was just overall an angel today. I needed that! Darin was a sweetie too. He went to the grocery store for me (after his tests) and even took Mar, so I could rest a bit. Tonight I caught a couple sweet moments of my sweeties on camera.

Marlee likes to jump into her daddy's arms after she gets dressed on her changing table...

we have to make sure she is already folding her arms before we remind her to close her eyes for the prayer :)

I think this is
my favorite
thing
these days that
Marlee does.
She is
good at
praying...well
assuming the
position
anyway.

halloween

2010-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

This year Marlee was a bunny. We were being cheap and realistic. She doesnt like having a lot of froof on. So this worked out. Marlee had more sweets in the last two days than in her whole life combined. (and she didnt even have a ton) But she was introduced to lollypops and sweedish fish.

As is tradition in my family, I had no idea what I was going to be for halloween and didnt start thinking about it until about 40 minutes before we left for the party. Darin actually took care of it all. He and his buddies were surgeons, I was an assistant i suppose...Anyway, we had fun at our friends (Nate and Cami's) ward trunk or treat. Darins group of study buddies were there with the families...they are a really great group of people. We did not get super in to halloween, but it was a fun night. I think my favorite part about it was eating a couple hot dogs..hahah Chalk that one up to pregnancy cravings...

California Pictures

2010-10-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Marlee and I spent a week in California with grandma and grandpa (Boppa and Boppa). She LOVES her Boppa (grandpa). I miss seeing the green grass and trees, I have to admit! I thought it was funny that Marlee played a little dressup at my grandma's house...because that is where we played dressup when we were little. Some things never change... Oh and she liked the ducks, but loved our Gato! She would get so excited to see our cat walking around and would meow like crazy. It was a fun visit...We wont talk about the bumps and bruises she got on her head... :)

Mr. Robert Darin Thomas

2010-10-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my husband put on a Triathlon. It was a lot of fun and a great success (no one got hurt!) Over the past two months Darin has been approaching several businesses and individuals to ask for donations to help with this event. First of all, NO ONE likes to ask for money or handouts but this triathlon was really important to him and it was really important that it was all based on service and giving...(donations). He was able to raise enough money to pay for the event and give a good size donation to a local charity.

This Triathlon was one of a kind because between each transition a quick act of service was preformed. Now the idea behind this was that if we can take a few seconds during something as intense as a physical race to help someone out, then we should be able to find a few minutes of time to do that during our regularly busy lives.

Anyway, his goal was to have 50 people participate in the race and I think there ended up being close to 60 racers! Darin was interviewed on our local las vegas news channel (fox 5) a week before the race, he did different presentations at his school to different classes, made a promotion video and even had a booth out during lunch to publicize the race. He went to all day bike conventions where he talked with different companies, such as powerbar, and was able to get quite a few donations in various items. He was on the phone a lot with city officials making sure he had all the right permits and approval for this race to be legal and even met with several of them in person. Needless to say it was a lot of work! Especially while attending medical school. He recruited help from his good friends at Touro and Im sure this event would not have been as smooth or professional with out them! His buddy Kendrick helped out a TON with the computer side of things.

I am so proud of Darin. Not just for putting together an awesome race, but for his desire to always be actively pursuing things like this. Dont get me wrong, the boy wears me out with his ideas and ambitions, but at the end of everyday I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the man he is. I was laying in bed last night thinking about the race and how important it is to Darin to continuously be serving others. I thought about the multiple times Darin has come home from school with greasy hands because he had pulled over to help someone out who was having car trouble...He has changed a few tires for strangers in a nice business clothes, and has filled up several gas tanks for others. A few months ago he randomly pulled up next to a family who was running out of gas in the middle of nowhere. He quickly drove to the nearest gas station filled up the two gas cans we carry in the trunk and came back to help them out. He talked with them and learned they were from an outside town (in the middle of nowhere) and were coming into town to sell some of their dvd's to buy diapers for the kids (they were going through a rough time). Darin of course gave them everything in his wallet and sent that grateful humble family on their way. In return for his help they gave him two baby joshua trees that they had in the back of their van. :)

I could go on and on but the bottom line is, Darin would give you the shirt off his back with a smile! Anyone who knows him, knows he is loud and energetic, but cant help but end up loving him for it! He does a great job taking care of our little family and being a great example to us in SOOO many ways. I Love my Darin!

The Boot!

2010-10-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Since Mar was being a pill, we just kicked her out of the pictures :) haha

Kisses

2010-10-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hopefully she wont pass these out so easily later on... :) For now we love it.

Family Pictures

2010-10-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

We tried to take some family pictures today. It started out like this...

Then we had some of this...

And then back to this...

Who says you only have pictures of the happy moments...???

Grandpa, babydoll and ponytails...

2010-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

So my dad was passing through here heading up to Utah, and I asked him to stay a day here and watch Marlee so I could paint my cabinets.

He is such a great babysitter! I walked in from the garage and this is what I found.

I finally bought Marlee a toy baby. She LOVES it, drags it around where ever she goes. She even feeds her! The other day I founder her hunched over on the kitchen floor pouring mile into the baby's mouth from her sippy cup! I tried not to laugh out loud and just suggested she go sit on the stairs...she did, then continued to feed her and I snagged a picture with my camera! What a good mom she is!

Marlee's Hair is kind of awkward. So we are in the beginning stages of ponytails...haha She may hate me fore this later...

Where Credit is Due...

2010-09-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

I have one amazing husband, who takes care of me and treats me great!

For my birthday he surprised me by taking me to a spa. It was wonderful! ( i have never been to a spa, and am definitely NOT the SPA type) but it was so nice to be spoiled for a day!

Then we went to P.F. Changs and had a great dinner, complete with a chocolate birthday cake at the end! (They have a Tastey Flourless chocolate cake..YUM!)

Then after dinner, we walked over to REI where he had a brand new Road bike picked out for me!! I really could not believe it!!!! The sweetest part was that he used his work money ( Darin has a job at school, doing I.T. computer stuff--as far as I know all he does is turn the computers on...) Anyway, he has been saving to buy a scooter to ride to school and he decided he wanted to spoil me instead and wouldn't let me argue with him about it!

Oh he also got me piano lessons to go with my new keyboard :) What a Stud!

Now thats the short version...If you would like to hear how embarrassing I am read on...

I am embarrassing...

So Clearly we are not a Rich people! We are in Med school and are just trying to get by. We do not live, nor have we ever lived a lifestyle that would in anyway consist of day trips to the SPA. So When we drove up my first reaction was GUILT! There is NO WAY we are spending money on this luxury I thought! But Darin was determined and had warned me that that I had to follow his plans no matter what they were, NO changing them! So As I walked in I was way out of my element! By the way , he had given me NO indication of what he had planned and I'm pretty sure my white trash roots and stubborn side had refused to shower that day! So who knows what I smelt like and how hairy my legs were! They had showers there, but we had dinner reservations so I had to go straight to my massage aptmt. I have to admit I was like a kid in a candy shop, bouncing around from room to room investigating this foreign place. A huge spa, huge sauna, decorative water dripping everywhere with black backgrounds, Food on all the counters, waters, fruits, deoderant, toothpaste, shampoo for the taking! Magazines on every counter, Plants in every corner. I was wishing I had a friend there take it all in with me and laugh like an immature kid.

I walked around for a while trying to figure out where to go to get my massage after a few laps around the place I asked someone, feeling slightly embarrassed but still in awe. I went and had a seat while I waited to be called back. When I was getting my massage face down I found that there was placed a nice decorative bowl with water and flowers in it directly under my face. "How Peaceful!" I thought. But then remembered I was getting over a cold! WIth a runny nose, I felt a flash of worry, and then brushed it off. As I became more relaxed though my worries came back and yep in a moment of pure relaxation it happened! My nose was runny and I sniffed a second too late! I opened my eyes to see a ripple in the water and figured there was no point in being horrified so I silently laughed my head off!!! "I really don't not belong here." I thought. And then later when she started to rub my feet and she had to pull a rag out and wash them off first because they were probably black from walking around my garage that morning trying to finish up my cabinet project I laughed again to myself and thought, "I REALLY don't belong here!" It was a great day and I really really enjoyed it! I have the sweetest husband!

Marlee and Me

2010-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Early BIrthday Gift

2010-09-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got an early Birthday Gift from my In-Laws. They were passing through and just spent the night here and I woke up a large object covered by a blanket in our living room. They had left early that morning, Darin was long gone to school so I walked over and unveiled it. I was SOOO Thrilled to see a keyboard! (I don't actually know if thats what it is called, because Keyboard sounds cheap and flimsy to me, THIS IS NOT!)

Now I have made two attempts in my life to learn the piano. Round one was when I was Seven years old...enough said, Round Two was my freshman year in college...enough said.

Third Time's A Charm!?! RIGHT!?!

I really want to have music in our home and I am really hoping my kids get the music Gene. It must be a recessive gene because I cant carry a tune to save my life! Im banking on the fact that Darin and I are carriers since His mom is so musical and Dad has got quite the ear as well! hahaha

So here's to trying something new! Ok, trying something AGAIN anyway...

See, Marlee already likes to play and sing!

Oh, How I Love...

2010-09-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, How I LOVE Those Baby Blues! Sometimes I like to get serious face pictures because when She smiles her eyes seem to disappear :)

Yes a messy eater...Im sure most kids are. I opened the window today in the kitchen (which I rarely do since we don't have the best view) and her eyes just sparkled, so I had to take a few pictures, for posterity of course. :)

And when those eyes DO disappear, I could just eat her up!

Yep, It's Official, Im pretty darn lucky!

Sand

2010-09-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

I just felt like goofing around with some pictures...

Park

2010-09-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the park. We have been going quite frequently lately. I ride my bike over and pull Marlee in a trailer behind me. This morning I brought my camera. I realize I post a lot of pictures of her, but I am a picture person, I love pictures!

She likes sand.

Brushing Teeth & Kisses

2010-09-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

We have been having a brushing battle lately. This girl tightens up her lips and refuses to allow her teeth to be brushed! Oh, how this wears me out, fighting her to get maybe a second or two of actual brushing. I've tried letting her do it herself, I've tried having her look in the mirror, I've tried tickling her to get her to open her mouth, I've tried doing it with her, I've even tried bribing her with, milk, binkies, etc...Any suggestions???

On a sweeter note, She loves giving out kisses these days! Her kissing face is similar to the above picture. Relatively slimeless :) Every night we say a prayer before she goes to bed and right after we say amen, She Puckers up! First to Mommy, then turns to Daddy, then back to Mommy, then points to the picture of Jesus and we take her over to give him a kiss too.

Here she is giving kisses to her Uncle Zack, who is on a mission in Brazil.

Zack sent us this picture of him, so we keep it in Marlee's room and she likes to give him kisses from time to time.

There are plenty of sweet moments around here...

We may have a problem...

2010-08-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

When your child loves her binki so much that she is putting them in two at a time, its time to worry...Or when she signs to go "night night" because she knows thats the only place she gets her binki, but really has no intention of sleeping at all...oh boy... Does the manipulation really start this young?!?!?!

Gluten: My Enemy

2010-08-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's really hard to be completely gluten free. When I am playing little eating games with Marlee and she offers me a goldfish cracker, how can I resist that face?! And then when she realizes how fun that is and keeps feeding me. Well that just opens all the flood gates for gluten full foods. I think to myself, "I just had a handful of crackers, and it didn't kill me!" So I start bending the rules and snacking on things I shouldn't. Or when my visiting teachers bring me yummy snacks that I shouldn't have, its hard to say no. BUT, it looks like I am going to have to be stronger because I just did some research and It is very important that I stay Gluten Free!

I have been so healthy for a long enough time now that it is easy to forget how miserable and unhealthy I was before. How much Anxiety and Fatigue I had as a result of the foods I ate. Anyway, as much as I hate to remember those days its important that I do, to keep myself away from foods I should not have. I just did some research and it turns out some long term effects of gluten intolerance is Bowel cancer, Intestinal lymphoma, Anemia, Osteoperosis, Fertility problems and miscarriages. Not to mention all the symptoms that start up as a direct result of eating the foods...Anxiety, Fatigue, Headaches, Body Aches, Accelerated heartrate, chest pains, Intestinal pain, Sore throat, night sweats, etc... Oh that list, I haven't thought about in a long time... Anyway, I am going to try to stay completely gluten free from now on. Its just not worth it, and I would hate to develop something later on that I could have prevented by doing what I know I should right now!

Obsessed

2010-08-25T14:53:00.001-07:00

I have loved a few movies in my day. Loved them to the point of knowing every single line in the movie, to the point of obsession. And this is where I think it all began!

When I was little, whenever we went to rent a movie from the video store, I always asked and voted for Annie! (im not sure why we didn't own it) And since it is one of my favorite movies of all time, and since it is very toddler friendly, we have been watching it A LOT lately. Oh how I love this movie. I love all the characters. I love how sweet and adorable this little girl is, I love "Daddy Warbucks," Miss Hannigan and Grace....Marlee loves Sandy. There is not a scene or line of this movie that bores me, even after all these years!

Marlita So Sweeta

2010-08-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Marlita so Sweeta...Im pretty sure Auntie Jamma came up with that little nickname for her, and like most things that come out of Jam's mouth, it stuck. So here is a recent picture of M.S.S. :) hah

DOGGY!

2010-08-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

We have been babysitting our friends Poodle for a few days and it has been pretty fun. Marlee of course loves it and is constantly saying "Doggy! Doggy! Doggy!" And I have to admit I now have a soft spot for Poodles (so does Darin). I have never been a "poodle person" but this dog is really pretty dang cool! She is THE smartest dog I have ever met! SOO obedient, SOO fun, and is great with Mar. What a fun few days it has been! OH, and don't worry, London's Nails are painted pink to match her bows! Her owner is a dog groomer and keeps her lookin good! hehe