best christmas ever

christmas for us this year was in hot-lanta with katie and tyler.

it was so much fun.

it was great being with them again - we miss you guys!

but even more fun was having mom & dad, jamie, ammon, and emmy, and topher! (we missed you m&m)

of course there was lots and lots and lots of yummy food and silliness.

it was so fun having ainsley see her cousins again. she loved being around them and especially loved when emmy would read to her. (emmy's going to be such a good big sister)

we did lots of shopping...ugh...and of course went to the coke world! and stuffed ourselves and maggiano's (thanks mom).

its so hard not having family close. i miss being around them and all the fun we have together. i'm so blessed to be part of such an amazing family.

sadly, christmas was on a saturday and duben had to be at work on monday. since our drive was long and ainsley doesn't like being tied down for long periods of time, we had to leave for home christmas day.

and this is where we spent christmas dinner....

waffle house in jasper, alabama

i dont know if you've ever been to a waffle house....its an experience. and this was definitely was. i wasn't brave enough to take any pictures of the people around us, but it was quite a show. they had the juke box going, and people would sing along....aloud...very loud. at one point the whole restaurant was singing 'picture' along with kid rock and sheryl crow.

it was actually a really good time.

new christmas tradition???

for you people with cute taste

recently we bought new bedroom furniture. yay! we really like it.

but now we need to change a few things...and i need help.

i've taken a picture of our bed and comforter....now i need help with the rest.

walls...

carpet...

and anything else that you can think of.

the pillow on the bed is an idea for colors. i want to paint the wall a dark blue/grey without it looking like a boys nursery.

so....help.

chugga chugga chugga chugga shoe shoe

one of our friends down the street was kind enough to give me a big bag of shoes for ainsley, since her girls have grown out of them.

ainsley is in heaven.

she.loves.shoes.

she sat there in her pile of new shoes looking at each one saying over and over again, "shoes. shoes. shoes." which is really more like choo...but i get it.

she loves them.

especially her new pink boots.

almost everyday i'll find her sitting down trying to put them on herself. she loves her pink boots.

thanks great neighbor, ainsley is in choo choo heaven.

brrr...cold

i love this time of year.

i get to drink hot chocolate and caramel apple spice.

eat peppermint bark ice cream.

put up christmas lights

i get to wear cute coats...and dress up ainsley in cute coats.

i love it!

i love getting to pull out all my winter clothes. whats even better this year is i get to pull out ainlsey's too. i knew having a girl would be fun - i just love all the cute little clothes we get to buy. we got our first pair of mittens and a matching hat...and she actually loves to wear them. we bought her a cute sweater dress too, and she's adorable!

yay for winter!

(i know, its only november, by february i wont feel the same...but for now...i love it!)

celebrate good times....come on

one of the many things i love about my family is how much we love to celebrate things.

birthdays don't last a day - we have birthday weeks...sometimes we celebrate all month long!

we even celebrate half birthdays.

we celebrate pi day, ice cream day, and have other great festivities.

now some of this may be because we can't always get presents together on time, but that's besides the point.

we love a good party.

ainsley recently had her super first birthday, and is still enjoying the benefits of her birthday month. thanks grandma for extending the celebration.

i just look that way

i saw this picture on jamie's blog and i felt like i need to explain something about myself....

once one of my college teachers asked me to stay after class so he could talk to me about something. never a good sign. then he asked me if he had offended me during our class discussion.

no.

i couldn't think of anything that would have.

he said that during the discussion i had this sort of angry look on my face.

i laughed and said, no i just look like that.

its true.

ever since i can remember i've had strange people i don't know coming up to me and saying things like, "just smile" or "you're too pretty to look so sad" or "hey lady what's wrong."

so here it is.

i look angry, perturbed, annoyed, and/or mad when i'm thinking.

i'm sure people who don't know me probably think i'm grumpy all the time, but it's not the case. i just look that way when i'm thinking deep carrie thoughts of chocolate and kitty cats.

so don't be offended if you see me with a scowl on my face.

i'm not angry - i just look that way.

its the most wonderful time of the year

i love this time of year. the leaves are changing and slowly falling. the humidity has finally left us. i get to wear my warm pajamas and drink hot chocolate.

it's perfect.

i think living in california has helped me appreciate the seasons a little more. i still love california weather and would go back in a heartbeat, but i love the fall and all the seasonal changes.

i know in april i'll be whining about the weather, but for now, i love it.

another great thing about the fall is the holidays! canadian thanksgiving, halloween, american thanksgiving, and christmas! it is all so much fun! especially the baking!

to get in the fall/halloween spirit a bunch of us moms went out to a local pumpkin patch. we dressed the little ones up in their halloween costumes and watched them walk/crawl/scoot around all the pumpkins. it was a lot of fun and they all looked so so cute.

(poor ainsley needed her nap by this point)

i love how big her booty is

ainsley's first birthday!!!

after many long hours of planning and several attempts to be crafty i was finally ready for ainsley's big party. your first birthday party is very serious business. okay, really, its not but i couldn't help myself. i remember calling my mom and telling her i needed an intervention.

i may have gone a little crazy, but i loved it. i think ainsley did too.

i know she didn't have a clue that it was her birthday, but every time the doorbell rang and someone else came in she ran to the door to greet them. it was so cute! she was so excited to have so many friends over. i was so sad not to have our family there, but we were so blessed to have so many good friends from church and work be with us.

it was so much fun. a lot of work, but definitely worth it. it was nice to celebrate her and look back at the past year and all the great memories we have. we are so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter.

happy first birthday miss a.

so the party....i went craft crazy. duben was kind enough to let me just go for it.

i made ainsley a 'happy birthday' banner out of fabric. yes, i sewed.

i made some tissue paper pom poms for the mantle

i also made some fabric pom poms to hang by the food table.

i printed out a variety of pictures of ainsley throughout the past year and cut out cute little borders for them.

i made a ribbon topiary w/ her party colors for the table. then for food, we had some glass jars to put some of ainsley's favorite snacks in.

i made some sugar cookies - A's and the number 1.

i made strawberry cupcakes w/ lemon frosting and dark chocolate with cream cheese frosting

her cake was strawberry w/ cream cheese frosting

she had to have a party outfit, so i put a #1 on a t-shirt for her

your 1-year old toddler

for the past few weeks all i've been thinking about was ainsley's birthday. i've been so excited to celebrate her first birthday. i went online and got lots of fun party ideas and got to work. and i worked and worked and worked.

i was so busy i don't think i really came to terms that my little girl was turning one until i got my weekly baby update. you know those emails you started getting when you were pregnant that told you what size of fruit your baby was, then it was baby emails about tummy time and eating solids.

i got my weekly email today, except it wasn't for a baby anymore, it was for my toddler.

it happened so quickly. i still remember the first time she rolled over, sat up, and started to crawl. it seems like just yesterday she started walking.

this past year has been amazing. i can honestly say that being a mom has exceeded all of my expectations. duben and i constantly say how blessed we are to have such an amazing girl. she's got such a strong personality and is always so happy and energetic. everyday is always so much fun.

thank you ainsley for the best year of our life.

my wonderful grandmother

ainsley and i were lucky enough to travel to utah a few weeks ago to visit with friends and family. the main point of our journey was to visit with my dad's parents - nani and gumpa. we knew nani was having some health issues and we wanted to make sure she was able to meet her little great granddaughter.

i think it is safe to say they adored each other immediately.

ainsley is usually pretty shy at first, but she just took right to nani. she loved playing hide and seek with her and i had to keep her from running back to see nani while she slept.

my grandmother passed away yesterday. she was blessed to have all her children by her side. i'm so grateful to have so many wonderful memories of her. she was a great example to me and was always so loving and thoughtful.

i know she meant well in giving me those poofy black dresses i had to wear to church.

i love you nani.

such a big girl

ainsley had a fun play date today with her friend savanna. you'd probably never guess that ainsley is only one day older than her.

i really wish i would have taken a picture when we put their feet together.

ainsley is a monster!

when they first started got together they kept crying back and forth at each other. quite amusing. once they got over that they were great friends.

LOOK AT THEIR FEET!!!

just cause

i can't believe how big ainsley is getting. its crazy to see her walking and talking all the time. she's always so happy and i love love love that she cuddles with me.

every so often i miss working and the adult interaction, but that never lasts long. especially after she says mommy or just wants to cuddle and watch tv.

i'm so blessed to be home with her everyday and so grateful for the love that we share.

i dont have a problem

i have fond memories of babysitting my niece while i was in college. most of those memories include letting her drink my coke. sorry melanie.

now i have my very own little one i try and protect her and give her only nutritional things, but there's only so much you can do.....

and no....its not open

visiting with uncle toph toph

ainsley and i were away traveling though utah and idaho when she hit 11 months (more on the trip later).

she's walking like a pro now - it is so cute!

it was so fun seeing her being so social with all the different people we've been meeting.

today we spent most the day with uncle topher - you can't beat that! we did lots of fun things and ate lots of yum yum yummy food.

i still think about the banana pie shake i had. if you're ever in provo or rexubrg - go to sammy's. so good.

ainsley loved hanging out with topher and he was so great with her. she absolutely adored him (and all his lady friends).

thanks uncle topher for letting us stay and play with you for a little while. we can't wait to see you again at christmas!

and off she goes

as i've mentioned before, ainsley has been taking small steps here and there for a while now. we knew it wouldn't be long before she got it figured out. sure enough, today she just got the confidence and started walking.

so so so so cute.

she does a cute little zombie walk with her arms out as she staggers along.

i love it.

here's some clips of the first moments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd_PBuNYZMg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXUmc8OkZdQ

mom and dad are quite proud.

love for relief society

i've had one of the best callings for a little over a year now. i was teaching primary for the 4 year olds turning 5. challenging - definitely, but also incredibly rewarding.

i loved hearing their stories of how they choose the right. they were all wonderful examples to me of how uncomplicated our lives should be and how easy it should be to serve and love others.

last week i was released and call to serve on the activities committee. it was definitely a bittersweet day saying my goodbyes to my wonderful class. it was especially difficult when my students and parents got teary eyed. i of course shared in their emotions. i loved that class, and i love that the kids still run up to say hello and give me hugs.

the bright side is that i get to go to class with duben now and be with my little ainsley. i also get to go to relief society and be with adults! yes...i actually look forward to going to relief society. who knew?

we had a great day together. i loved hearing the wonderful lessons and being with my family.

i think ainsley enjoyed being with mom too...enough that she gave me kisses, which is a rare occurrence...and the fact that we got it captured - priceless.

almost there

i can't get over how big ainsley is getting.

duben and i keep saying she's just growing up too fast. she's not my little baby anymore.

she's not walking completely on her own yet, but she's definitely mobile and all over the place. it is so cute watching her move around.

her personality is really starting to come out - she's such a silly girl!

definitely a fischer.

pacifier...soother...binky....none of the above

this picture is probably typical of most infants.

babies love pacifiers.

ainsley did too....for about two weeks. then she found her thumb. i'm all for it. its a self-soothing win-win for us. if it falls out, she can put it right back in.

pacifiers are good to chew on now. when she's interested in them, this is typically what she does with a pacifier.

that's my girl.

what a lush

i love drinks.

i always love to go to the store and see what new drinks are out. i remember going grocery shopping with my college roommate aubry and always stocking up on fun drinks.

one of the many reasons i love duben is for his fondness for drinks.

ever since we've been married we've always had sections in our fridge and cupboards set aside for drinks.

i've even got the pictures to prove it!

(don't hate on the diet pepsi)

current cupboard

play date at the pool

so we finally got out and had a play date this week. we've had such a hot summer and its been in the 90's and above for about 50 straight days. of course, the one day we picked was the first overcast day. it was still fun and warm enough for us.
its so nice being a in branch with so many girls ainsley's age.
it was great to see all the girls and how big everyone is getting.

the girls loved the pool and were able to splash and crawl around.
so much fun!
yes, i know, i forgot ainsley's hat. my mistake.

a fast 10 months

i can't believe how quickly time goes by. i know i say this to myself every time i see how big ainsley is getting.

i just can't believe how fast she's growing.

she's getting even more of her own little personality. she's going through the phase of smiling and laughing when i tell her no. its hard to keep a serious look when she gives me that guilty smile.

she's sooo close to walking. she's up to 8 steps on her own, but you have to encourage it, she's still hesitant of it. i'm ready for her to walk cause she's getting heavy!

duben and i just adore her. she's just as cute as ever. and always so happy.

we are just so blessed and grateful for her.