SLC layover

Here are a couple of pictures from Pappy that we took at our SLC airport layover on the 11th. It was so good to see him! So nice of him to still come at 930am even though he got off work at 7am! We miss everyone in Utah and we wish we could spend more time with them!! I can't believe how happy Rachel is in these pictures! It seems as though no matter how tired she is, if there's an audience then she's ready to perform! We got her up at 430am to get to the airport on time after our snow fall in Houston! (I'll post those pictures later)! She only slept for maybe 45 minutes on the flight to SLC. She was way excited to see Pappy and obviously he was equally excited to see her!

Spanish - Espanol

Just so you all know, thanks to facebook I have gotten back in contact with some of my friends from my mission. Going forward I am going to try and translate the posts that Amber and I make so that they can also know what is going on in our lives.

Para que sepan, gracias a facebook he reconectado con algunas de mis amigos de mi mission. Adelante yo voy a tratar a traducir todo que Amber y yo escriben para que ustedes puedan entender lo que pasa en nuestros vidas.

Big Girl Food

Rachel, as discussed before, is huge! Here are a couple of pictures with her eating "Big Girl Food"!!





Bananas




Eggs and Toast




Spaghetti









Macaroni

Thanksgiving

Another year of Thanksgiving, another year to reflect on all I'm Thankful for! Obviously my family, Mark is such an AMAZING husband and all around man; Rachel lights up my world, every day is a new adventure; both of our families are such a blessing; our friends are wonderful, we have been so blessed by so many of them. Most importantly, for the gospel, the restoration of the TRUE church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! I'm so grateful for the Prophet, the Apostles and the leaders of this church, we are sooooo blessed!

This year for Thanksgiving we headed over to our friends house, the Jones'. We had a great time and there was NO FOOD left when we were done!! It was all of Julie's family and it was a ton of fun!






Mommy giving Rachel kisses, while she says hello




A family Thanksgiving




Me and Julie





Mark and Grant playing video games

Still Loving the Bath!!

Rachel is way too big now for her little bath tub, but she's still a litte small to be in the 'big' tub. So, we found her this giant rubber duckie to sit it! She loves it and she has plenty of room to sit up in it and still play with her toys!





I love this picture, it looks like either Mark pushed Rachel over or that she has a duck for a head!!

6 Month Appointment

Okay, the doctor told us after her 1st month that she'd even out to around the 75% or so at about 6 months. (She's been in the 95%-97% at every appointment)! At this last appointment our giant weighed in at 18 lbs 12oz and 27 1/2 inches!! Putting her in the 97% still!! We love it though, there are much cuter clothes now that she's so big!! It is funny to see 'average' 6 month old babies next to her, she seems HUGE! But we wouldn't want it any other way. We love every fat roll she has! (Just like Mommy)

Laughing, Waving, and Clapping

So I have been trying to capture Rachel on video waving and I ended up getting WAY better! The other day we were playing and I grabbed her teething toy with my teeth and she thought I was hilarious. We played for a while and I figured I should probably be getting it on video. (Our camera no longer makes any noise. Rachel was so used to the "on" noise that she'd stop doing whatever it was she was doing and just stare at the camera, it seems to have worked!) I turned the camera on and then put it on my leg so that she wouldn't see it. Hince the reason I made a "funny face" at the camera. Obviously, it worked out well. I got her laughing, waving and clapping!! I know it looks like she's trying to grab the camera but that's her waving. She opens and closes her left and and waves her right hand, who knows why!?! And when she claps at the very end, yes she spits up too! Apparently she got herself a little too excited!

Team Halloween Party

After Sunday's game we all headed over to Ryan Hamilton's place for the Team Halloween Party! It was a ton of fun, Julie and Grant stayed at our place to watch Rachel and we dressed up as White Trash!! It's nice because everyone dresses up, we had: The Flintstones and The Rubbles, The Jetsons, a LD nurse and her pregnant husband, Mrs. Claus and Tiger Woods, Micheal Phelps, a pirate, police officers, even a couple of bums. Just as we were leaving the real cops showed up for a noise ordinance!! It really was that fun!

I had to put my wig on Rachel, we think she looks hilarious. And it made it even better because she just kept on playing as though it wasn't on her head!! We hope you like it too!!

 

Halloween at the Game

 
 
 
 

Here's Halloween at the hockey game! Rachel was a little bee, so of course I had to be a bee keeper!! Julie and her girl friend were devils, Julie was a devil on roller skates, aka Hell on Wheels and her girlfriend was a devil in a blue dress. Misty and her newest edition Greyson on his first Halloween. I wish I would have got a picture of their other son Preston, who's 3 and made a wonderful pirate!!

Alligator Park

Last week Mark actually had a half day off so we headed to the Alligator Park! No fences, no barriers just "watch out" for alligators! At first we were a little bummed because we didn't see anything, but we found 40 acre trail and it all changed!! We put Rachel in the stroller and headed out on our adventure. We walked out to a dock just to see if we could see anything in the lake, and sure enough there was a little gator right below us! As we walked along the lake we saw tons of alligators some in the water and some out sunbathing on the shore. They were actually kind of close so we snapped our pictures, no pun intended, and ran. We even saw butterflies, deer and a live armadillo. Neither of us had ever seen a live one before, but they're just as ugly stuffed! Now that Rachel is sitting up, we let her take an alligator ride, they promised it wouldn't bite her!!

 

Rachel's Ice Time!!

Just before Halloween we were able to take Rachel out on the ice. It was so much fun, and it was the first time that I have been able to ice skate since Alaska.
I was too scared that I might fall so Mark held her as we skated. Eventually I gain enough courage to take her around for half a lap, but then I gave her back to Mark!
Mark even put her feet on the ice and she tried running it was really funny I wish we would have got it on video. Her are some of our favorite pictures!

Ode to Alby's

To all of you who have also pushed carts through the heat, rain, wind, snow and hail, this is for you...

Since pushing my fair share of carts. I think I pushed more than most, which may have to do with the fact that I was never really doing what I was suppose to and it was typically my punishment. I have vowed to never leave the cart just next to the car and have always put it back where the carts go. That was until yesterday when I was at Sam's Club! Rachel was crying and tired and we had to park so far away from everything that I just left it next to my car in Timbuktu! I felt so guilty, especially because I always give people dirty looks when they leave their carts out! But, like I said after pushing my fair share and getting annoyed at the people that somehow managed to leave their carts over by KFC or Tony Roma's, I felt bad for whoever had to go get my cart and push it all the way back to the store in the heat!!

Sorry Sam's Club cart pushers!

Halloween pictures will be up soon!

Rachel's a Little "Roll Over Happy"

So Rachel loves to play on her playmat, but lately her big thing is to lay on the edge of it and then roll over so that it falls on her! Or like in these photos, she will just pull on it until it falls on her!! The first few times she did it, it scared me. But now, I don't worry about her, she seems to be having fun!

Rachel and Hockey

Sometimes shen we go see Mark at work Rachel likes to help out. Obviously on this day she got lazy and ended up taking a nap while folding socks! We'll have to work on her work ethic.

Rachel and I have been to every home game so far this year, 3. Even though the games start at 735pm and her bedtime is 830pm. She does great at the games, stays awake the whole time and enjoys hanging out with all the girls. After the games she's all smiles when we head downstairs to see Daddy, especially after games like last week's 8-6 victory (the highest scoring game in Aeros 15 year history). This last game Daddy got her an Aeros jersey and it fits great. This is our first family picture at the rink!

Peaches and Rachel feeding herself

Rachel loves peaches and we love these pictures of her eating them. They were a little sweet for her at first, but then she couldn't get enough of them! She also her a really cool bottle/sippy cup that is made by (Jenny you'll be happy) NUK that has handles and she loves feeding herself. Still no juice yet, but probably once she's 6 months.

Rolling Over

On October 6th I was finally able to catch Rachel rolling over on video. I thought I'd have to tape her a couple of times, but she rolled over on the second video try. She is a rolling over machine! But only from right to left, back to tummy. She refuses to roll over any other way. Even if we tempt her with toys, instead of rolling over left to right she'll just scoot and turn so that she can reach her toy, then she gets all excited when she gets it and is confused when we say, "Ahhh!" She looks at us like, "What? You wanted me to get my toy, I got it right!?!" I can hardly believe how big she is, it's ridculous! She used to hate being on her tummy which is probably why she rolls from her back to her tummy (Which we've been told is the "harder" way? Thoughts?), but now she loves it and always rolls over to play on her tummy. Seriously she's either on her hands arms fully extended, elbows locked, lifting her whole belly off the ground or playing with her toys from her belly. It's been interesting finding her after her nap in her crib on her belly! And I just love that she insists on rolling over EVERY time I change her diaper!

Yeah well, it's pretty exciting and now she rolls from left to right and right to left from back to belly only. But for some reason the video is not pulling up. So, you'll just have to trust us!

First REAL foods: Sweet Potatoes/Peas

We we so excited to give Rachel baby food. She loves sweet potatoes, peaches and carrots, but is really NOT a big fan of peas! She even took the spoon away from me after eating the sweet potatoes. Obviously, from the picture, she REALLY doesn't like peas! She wasn't blinking, she was just making a yucky face after EVERY bite of peas.

Rachel and Rice Cereal

Rachel's 4 month appointment was on September 26th. It was suppose to include Mark, but he ended up stuck in MN until the 28th. Rachel weighed in at 16 lbs 12 oz and 26 in long, that put her in the 95 percentile for both! Dr. Molina said we could start her on rice cereal and baby food. I promised Mark that I'd wait 'til he got home, on my birthday, to feed her for the first time. Obviously, she LOVED it! I couldn't think of a better birthday gift than to have Mark home and giving Rachel her first meal together.

Rachel's Pretty Dress

This is Rachel and I after church one Sunday when Mark was in MN. This is our FAVORITE dress for Rachel, from her Auntie Carolyn. (As are many of her clothes). You can tell she's a little tired with her lack of expression.

Kincher Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

I've been Husband TAGGED!!!

Where did you meet your husband? Provo, UT, in the BC!!
How long have you been married? 5 years, 5 1/2 months
What does he do that surprises you? When he goes on a road trip he covers the house in little notes (i.e.: On the photo of our wedding day, he put a little sticky that said, "The GREATEST decision I ever made!")
What is your favorite feature of his? LIPS
Does he have any annoying habit? He talks in his sleep, sometimes in Spanish
What is your favorite quality of his? He is ALWAYS thinking about others
Does he have a nickname for you? Honey
What is his favorite color? Blue
What is his favorite food? Chicken enchiladas, but I rarely make them anymore, so Chicken Puffs (Thanks for that reciepe Kami)
What is his favorite sport? Baseball (SERIOUSLY)
When and where was your first kiss? June 23, 2002 (3 days after our first date) In the parking lot of the BC under the stars.
What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Anything outside, we love camping!
Do you have any kids? Our BEAUTIFUL little girl, Rachel
Does he have a hidden talent? He plays the SAX!!
How old is he? 28
Who said I love you first? Him
What is his favorite type of music? Country
What do you admire most about him? His love of the gospel
Will he read this? It is our blog!

TAG! Jess, you're it!

Marks Madness

Hey everyone I just wanted to let you all know that I am going to be doing a blog for our hockey team the Houston Aeros. It can be found at http://www.aeros.com/fancenter/blog/markmadness/.
My first post is up. Check it out. I will be talking about what I do, my family, and life in pro hockey. It should be interesting. I will try and update it atleast weekly.

Rachel

Okay, this picture is from Utah, but I love it! Mo just posted it on her blog and it was one that her photographer took. Rachel had been all cranky while Mo was trying to get ready for her big day and so I gave her her binky. The wonderful photographer was taking pictures of Rachel with her binky and as she was still being cranky. Just before this picture was taken I pulled the binky out of her mouth and this is what we ended up with! I was so excited when we finally got it!! She is so BEAUTIFUL!!

Random Rachel

Obviously as new parents, we take about a million pictures a day of Rachel. Here are just a few of our favorite rught now (from this disk). Rachel in what used to be Mark's favorite reversable bennie that shrunk when i washed it; Rachel falling to sleep while i was vaccuming; and Rachel chillin' in my sunglasses.