7 month old baby girl

It's been years, yup YEARS since I've updated.  We've moved, had a baby, and well, life just keeps going despite the fact that I stopped blogging.  It wasn't intentional, I just never kept it going, and I think I'm going to try and start up again.  We've been having so many incredible experiences the last few years, maybe I can slowly recap, but tonight....I just want to focus on our baby girl, Cosette.  She was born a week late, on the coolest day 4-4-2014.  We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 AM hoping she'd arrive by 4pm, but she came within like 45 minutes, so that was a fun surprise and NO pain meds.  I now love NATURAL birth and she has been the sweetest baby of all time.  Something I am constantly thankful for.  She has her moments, but she is so fun!

At seven months, she has put her feet in the ocean, met Condi Rice, and moved to California! Sweet bebe or Baybuh as her brother lovingly calls her.

A lot of people ask about her name, and seem to like it. I love it's uniqueness and sound. Something French, something feminine and something different.  She is a sweet Cosette.

Cosette sleeps through the night-a gift given to us from HEAVEN and from my dear friend Katie Jones, who wrote down on a paper a great schedule to follow.  I took that paper, and I followed it, like a religion.  I now have faith in it, and owe Katie my life, but I honestly am so thankful for a baby that sleeps and loves to sleep.  We never let her "cry" it out, and I owe a lot of it to her personality as well. Jake, as some of you know, was a tough one.  I don't blame him, because I know there's a lot of things we would have done differently, but I have faith that a healthy baby who is at a great weight can sleep through the night.  Katie Jones, you're my hero. 

Cosette started clapping and if you tell her to clap on demand, she will. Without showing her what to do, you just say clap and she claps.  I hope this is a premonition as to what her toddler and teenage years will be like. Clean your room....DONE!

Cosette shakes her head 'No' and seems to understand what it means! Like when I put her in her carseat, head shakes NO, and we had a moment where I looked at her and said, "No?" and she stopped and I swear if she could have said it she would have, but I had to buckle her back in, and she cried and shook her head NO! 

Colette's eyes are a mystery to me.  They are mostly hazel, I think, but on some days they look blue. Someone asked me if they were green.  Another time, someone said blue, and another someone said brown.  I call them Grayzel.  A gray hazel mix. 

Cosette also loves to eat.  A lot.  Her favorite food is....TOAST.  She can eat a whole slice of bread in one sitting.  Organic, whole wheat of course, but man, she's an eater.  If she sees carbs of any kind in your hand, on a nearby plate, she will flap her arms like she's going to take off and squeal for a piece. It's really cute the way she flaps her arms when she wants something. She doesn't like bananas, but that's ok, she likes just about everything else at the moment.  

Cosette loves her brother.  He is rough and tumble, but her squeals and squeaks when he is around just about melts my heart.  Sibling love at it's finest.  He loves her too.  He loves to entertain her, and jump and do crazy things.  She doesn't care if he's loud or crazy, infact she feeds the fire.  There are times when he is being too rough and needs a reminder that she's still a baby and she will whine for me to save her.  It cracks me up, especially on the occasions that he is being soft and she might happen to fall over and she completely looses it and looks at me to save her, when she's being a bit dramatic. 

Cosette is such a girl.  She is dramatic.  Like she looses it over nothing and starts crying.  My first glimpse into this was in relief society when she wanted the pen that belonged in a folder they were passing around.  She strait up flipped a lid cause she couldn't have the pen.  I'm like, "Girl, it's not worth it, it's just a pen." I can't imagine her first heartbreak.  Save.Us.ALL.  

Cosette is sweet and shy.  She has some serious separation anxiety.  She used to not let anyone but mom hold her, and now she is ok with dad, but eventually wants mom as soon as she comes back in sight.  If we are in public, and someone wants to hold her,  and I let them....she looks at them, then back at me, and then flaps her arms (her way of saying she wants something really bad) and then I get her back before she breaks down.  She then hides her face in my neck.  Looks to make sure I'm the one holding her again, then looks at the stranger and smiles.  It is really cute, and I kinda love her love for mama.  I love when she hides her face in my neck and seeks comfort.  

Cosette is a really good baby.  She just is.  She came with a sweet personality, and I hope I can be as loving and sweet to her as she has been to us.  We are so lucky she is in our family and love her so much.

Easter Cutie

Just wanted to share a few pictures of my handsome boy and Easter!  His hair did this cool wave thing so I had to take a picture of the front of it! It doesnt curl like it did in LA, due to the dry weather here, but sometimes if I put a lil gel and water in it, they bounce right back.  I sure love this lil dude!

March Roundup

March was a fun month for our little family! It started out with a boom and ended with a bang.  We had lots going on! The third of March was my birthday! We went to my new favorite eatery, The Communal, located in Provo, UT.  It is a homegrown, organic, fresh cafe that serves up some tasty eclectic American style dishes. They have a great seasonal menu, so we never get board of what they are serving.  The english toffee pudding is to die for.  We've been back since the bday and even scored a $5 gift card for "being so pleasant"! Thank you Communal! We also took Jake to the park for the first time since we hibernated all winter.  He is so happy to be stretching his legs outside again!

The second week in March, Andy's work sponsored the most luxurious ski retreat at the Deer Valley Lodge in Park City.  I'm still dreaming about it.  Andy has been working some crazy hours, and they wanted to thank their workers for a job well done last year.  I was touched by their kind offer to provide us all a relaxed weekend.  My dear parents watched Jake for us so we could go. Our weekend included free ski lessons, a day of skiing, then hot chocolate bars, the most insanely delicious food, gorgeous sleeping chambers complete with fireplaces and snowy mountain views, sleeping in, a relaxing spa day with a facial that changed my life, a eucalyptus steam room, hot tubs.  It was the most refreshing weekend I have ever had in my life.  Literally.  I dont think I've ever experienced a place like it.  We got their the first day bright and early and took ski lessons for a few hours, then ate a huge lunch fit for a king at the Stein Erickson Lodge, then continued skiing for the rest of the day, accidentally ending up on some blue hills (I'm a greenie all the way), then dinner in the Paris Ballroom.  The meat was melt in your mouth, and the desserts had gold foil on them.  We felt so spoiled.  Then we went to the Eccles Theater to watch a Riverdance-like violin playing group called "Bowfire".  It was exciting, but we were completely drained from skiing.  We ended our day with more hot chocolate from the hot cocoa bar and some relaxing hot showers, and a movie.  Off to bed we went for day two, which for me included another movie, sleeping in, eating a huge breakfast, and spa day.  For Andy, he was going out skiing again with his work buddy.  I cant tell you what peace of mind I felt at the spa.  I got there, slipped into my swimsuit and sat in the private hot tub and steam room for a half hour, before waiting in the relaxation room for my facial.  I sipped on some herbal tea and ate truffles.  Like I said, I'm still dreaming about it.  I cant even tell you how amazing my facial was.  It transformed my skin and I was introduced to the Arcona skincare line.  I'm not one for ever promoting skincare stuff, but after using Oil of Olay for years, and constantly fighting breakouts, I can now say that Arcona skincare has changed my life.  I am obsessed with it, but it is expensive, so I have to save my pennies.  Feel free to ask me more if you have questions, but I can tell you it is the best holistic product out there.  After melting into a relaxed state of chi, I met up with Andy and we finished our stay with a fresh lunch at the restaurant on the hotel premises and packed up our bags and left the white snowy wonderland of Park City and returned home to Jake refreshed and rejuvenated ready to face the world with gratitude.  It was pure heaven and a weekend I'm certain not to forget.

The rest of March we had visitors and Easter! Andy's sister came from Washington, and their friends from Oklahoma stayed with us.  We loved having them here.  Lynda and Ryan are some of Jake's favorite people and we were able to enjoy a fun dinner with them at the house!

I was called as music chair in our ward, and the bishop asked me to put the Easter Program together for sacrament.  No big deal! NOT! It completely stressed me out for months.  I planned everything as early as I could putting together narration and music, and trying to make it all fit in to the spirit of Easter, our Savior's Resurrection.  It fell into place after I prayerfully sought help.  It was really quite a miracle how it all happened to fall into place so well, and it was a great program.  I worked through Christ's life from the passover, the suffering in the garden, the atonement, the resurrection, Christ's appearance to His apostles, and finished with a concluding takeaway message.  In between each passage of scriptures and narration was a song. There were a few loose hinges that might have thrown a certain leader off a bit because he is very into music, but I was proud of everyone who did their best to sing and narrate and provide a powerful spirit in sacrament meeting. I'm so glad it's over.  :-) The relief is outstanding, and I couldnt have done it without the help of others.  Can I have another vacation in Park City now ;-) ???

For Easter, we took Jake to an easter egg hunt.  He actually threw up that morning then was running around so we took him out after we thought he was acting fine, no fever, etc.  He had a blast!  Then we went home for naps, and for dinner went out to eat.  Then, Sunday was the program.

That was our March! Busy and fun, and I'm excited spring is here!