My New Favorite Picture of Marilyn

Marilyn's Indian name...Girl Who Peers Into Souls

Far Far and Grammy Here At Last!

Well, my mom and dad (who will be referred to as Grammy and Far Far for this point on) came to visit for the weekend! I thought just Grammy was coming, and to our great surprise and joy when the car drove up Far Far was there too! We loved having them here! It was pretty adorable seeing Marilyn wake up SUPER early every morning to play with Grammy.  I was so happy to see how comfortable she was with them, she always wanted to be held by them, or on their laps...she even seemed to be happier when they turned on Elmo's world.  She learned to sing the Elmo's World theme song, and Grammy even taught her who Ernie was.  We had such a great time talking and laughing.  Grandma even bought me and Marilyn valentines dresses! Which will be posted on our valentines day post! Ok Ok Ok, here is a peak of Marilyn's dress...it is to cute to keep from you!

Notice Marilyn's princess high heels? on the rocks? seriously...all girl!

While they were here we also went to Zion National Park and spent the afternoon laying on the grass in front of the Zion Lodge (which was under construction so it was a good thing we weren't there to look at the lodge), we walked up the trail to the Grotto Picnic Area, but Marilyn lost patience so we turned around and walked back to the lodge.  We also looked at the river, which was gorgeous and FREEZING, of course our little Marilyn was SO mad when we wouldn't let her jump in.  Here are some pictures of our afternoon!

Our latest family picture...

This is when my dad asked us to be super models...but we don't really know how to do that so this is what we came up with...pretty good right?

We had such a great time, we are so grateful that Grammy and Far Far were able to come! We hope they can come again soon!

Stretching With Dad

Is this the cutest thing ever?

Do you think they both are stretching for a basketball game?

Marilyn's First Pig Tails

Well, the blessed day has come...finally Marilyn's hair has grown long enough for pig tails...I literally have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this day.  I ALWAYS am jealous of little girls with darling little pigtails, and flowers or bows in them.  I almost died waiting for this day...but it came! It finally came!
          

My Green Thumb

 Well, my other new years resolution (other than writing down everything else on this fabulous blog) is to plant our garden again this year! So, to start this goal off on the right foot, I am starting my herbs in pots.  Hopefully they will be darling little plants by the time we are ready with the rest of the garden plans.  I planted cilantro, basil and oregano.  I think those are good starters for a garden I am planning on either eating or canning. 

18 Months, Can You Believe It?

This week was Marilyn's 18 month check up.  I am still totally freaked out that they called to remind me about my toddlers appointment.  I refuse to believe it, she is still my sweet little baby, I think she will always be.  She is healthy, thank goodness.  Here are her stats: 20 pounds 13.5 ounces (6th percentile, sorta sorry), 33 inches tall (80th percentile, rocking awesome) and 19 inch head circumference (humongous, to hold her ridiculously smart brain).  So recap, she is really tall and super skinny, with a huge Nielsen head.  And we couldn't be happier about it...

2 weeks of sickness

Well, for 2 straight weeks (literally, not in Sara speak), Marilyn has been sick.  It all started with some serious throwing up straight for a week.  Then her hands and feet were swollen.  She would hold up one finger and try and bend it, it wouldn't bend because it was swollen so big, and say "uh-oh MaMa, uh-oh".  Serious uh-oh, then started the cough.  So here we are at the end of 2 long hard weeks, with a little light at then end of the tunnel.  Today was the first morning she did not wake up with a 103 fever.  The first time in several nights she was not up all night screaming, and most importantly the first day she has wanted to play with her toys and play outside.  I think this is a huge step in the right direction.  So we are moving away from constant Elmo, Ibuprofen every 4 hours on the dot, and living in a germ infested house.  Hopefully, we are over the hardest part and on our way to a full recovery!

This is where Marilyn has spent her time for the last 2 weeks.  Pathetic right?

Marilyn's First Day in Nursery!

January 2, 2011 our first day without a baby in our arms for the second and third hours of church.  We woke up ready to face the day.  We ate a huge breakfast, got ready for church, made sure Marilyn had a seriously long nap, and we left.  Sacrament meeting flew by, then it was time.  This was an emotional day for Tom and I, would she hate us forever? Would she ever want to go back to church? Will she scream straight for 2 hours? (we all know she can) or even worse, will she love it? What if she never wants to leave? We were full of crazy emotions that were irrational and confused at best.  But whether we were ready of not, there we were, sitting in our row at church, sacrament meeting was over and we had to make our limbs move.  Maybe we could sit there forever and no one would notice.  I had to go to primary so it was up to Tom.  We made a plan weeks ago for this moment, but we didn't know what to expect.  I got up from our row, gave Marilyn and Tom a kiss and ran away as fast as I could.  Tom picked up Marilyn took a deep breath and began to walk to the nursery.  He took her in and to our shock and horror, the leader told him to leave immediatly.  So he did, he left the room alone.  Suprisingly, he didnt hear her scream like a maniac the second he left.  But it didn't last long.  Now, if you know our sweet little Marilyn, she has some serious lungs, and can scream like no other, and will at the smallest provication.  Knowing this fact, Tom stayed close for the first hour.  The next thing I know, I am singing "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus" with the Junior primary and I see Tom's face poking into the primary room.  I run to the door, knowing they need me, obviously I am the only one who can calm my sweet little girl, only I can make her happy, she needs me and secretly I need her in primary with me.  I was suprised when he said she was ok, I was shocked when our best friend, Kristin said she was doing fine, and I was worried that the worst had happened...she loved nursery more than me.  But the nano second the AMEN was uttered from senior primary, I ran to her.  And there she was, standing with a huge "I am a Child of God" crown, huge crocidile tears in her eyes.  She didn't want me to pick her up, she didn't want to hold my hand, she walked out of the room with no smile, no expression really at all.  She hasn't worn the crown since, so here's to next week.  Hopefully it will be easier for her, and us. 

A new year comes with a new goal

This year I have made a goal to update the blog once a week, I decided that is really important for us to keep a record of what we spend our time doing, and how we feel about everything we have done.  I am grateful that we have a easy way to record feelings, experiences, and pictures.  I think this will be a good way for us to keep a record for our family.  Here's to the new year, full of new entries, and tons of fun family experiences! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of 2010.  Marilyn ready for church, Tom and I at our raging new years eve party, and another darling shot of Marilyn.