Christmas 2015

Huh. It's January. That's always a little depressing after the Christmas season, a.k.a. the best time of year! We had a great December celebrating our Savior and soaking in (and eating) all that makes this season wonderful! 

We had a few fun concerts to get us in the Christmas spirit. David got some free tickets to the Kurt Bestor Christmas concert from a patient. It was my first time hearing of him, so I didn't know what to expect, but the concert was so fun! The music was great and it was super entertaining. The next week we ended up going to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert. We have gone every year since we were dating, so it's become a sort of tradition for us. Although it was fun to dress up and go, we both agreed this year's concert wasn't our favorite performance they've done. 

At A Kurt Bestor Christmas:

We also got together with my freshman roommates and their spouses. We did a Sunday dinner together at Meagan's cute house, then went over to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. It was so fun to all get together and catch up! 

December is also the month of parties. We had a ward Christmas party as well as a dental school Christmas party with David's dental class. I was so excited that they had a Santa at our ward Party because I secretly wanted a picture of Alice with Santa, although I didn't feel like going to a mall or somewhere to find him since she's still so young. So we got this great picture (thanks to a girl in the ward with a nice camera):

And then the next night at the dental party, David's classmate dressed up as Santa and surprised us all. He was actually a pretty good Santa. It was so funny and the older kids were loving it. So we had another opportunity to snap a pic of Ali. I wish the photo was better quality, but at least we got that smile:

The next week was Christmas week! David's parents came into town and rented a house that we could all stay in together. It was a blast! The house was kind of quirky, but being able to all stay together for the week was the best. We stayed up until about 1 (or 2 in some cases) every morning playing The Resitance (a super fun game) or chatting. 

Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner of cheesy potatoes, rolls, ham, and asparagus. Afterwards David's family does a spiritual Christmas program and testimony meeting and it was so neat to reflect on our Savior. Family photo on Christmas Eve:

Starting to sit on her own:

 Christmas morning was a blast. We ate breakfast and opened lots of fun gifts. Then we had a pretty lazy rest of the day. I facetimed my family so we could all be together while we talked with my sister Aimee! She is serving a mission for our church right now, and we can only talk to her on Christmas and Mother's Day. Besides those days we only get to correspond weekly with her through emails. She looks so great and happy and it was fun catching up with her! Here we are. I'm facetiming my dad while they all FaceTime Aims.

The rest of the week together was a blast as we spent much of it with extended family on David's side. Sunday we had a baby blessing, Monday a family dinner for his cousin Becca's wedding, and Tuesday was the wedding and reception. 

The beautiful couple:

And Sparklers at the send off:

Sorry, those are the only photos I captured of a fabulous Christmas week. David's parents left the next day to head back to Kansas, and we were sad to see them go. We had the best time and it was such a great Christmas! It's always so sad when Christmas is over...we're already counting down to next year ;)

5 Months!

Today Alice is five months old! We can hardly believe how quickly it's gone. She is just our favorite and were a bit obsessed with her. Being a parent can be difficult at times, but we are so in love and just thrilled we get to have her in our family forever. 

She is a petite little thing and was 27% for height and 5% for weight at her 4 month check up. The pediatrician said she looked healthy but it was probably time to start her on solids (baby food). We started with some rice cereal and veggies the week of Thanksgiving and she was a bit skeptical at first, but now she loves eating everything. 

Ali is just so delicate and girly in everything she does. She is often crossing her legs (right over left) even when standing and sometimes when sleeping. Her cry is so girly and darling, sometimes we have to watch her for a few seconds before getting her. 

She is a busy bee and now rolls both ways as wells as scoots in her bum around the floor. She seems to be squirming or moving at all times, and loves to be standing as much as possible. Ali is a great sleeper and sleeps 12 hours every night, which is the best! She usually goes to bed around 7 PM and wakes up around 7:30 AM. She still naps about 3 times during the day.

She giggles and smiles all the time now and she is getting to be so fun. Lately, she's been a little more clingy and cuddly, but I'm okay with that knowing that she won't be like this much longer once she can crawl/walk. She is our little Ali Bug and we just love her! 

Always crossing those legs:

All bundled up for our morning runs in her sour patch kid suit:

Sporting her new beanie:

Snoozing in my arms:

After Davids intramural championship game: 

Thanksgiving 2015

This year we spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Colorado with my parents. We had a great time and ate a ton. I love this holiday and it's always so great to reflect on everything we've been blessed with and what we are grateful for. My parents were so great and even watched Alice for a day so David and I could ski together! The other two days we switched off watching her so the other could ski. Luckily, there was a lot of snow so the skiing was great compared to other thanksgivings! Overall it was so fun to spend time with my parents and we were so glad to get some skiing in this winter!

Skiing with my favorite:

And with my mom:

Her Thanksgiving outfit:

And turkey bum!

Ready to eat Thanksgiving dinner!

Thanks mom and dad for a great Thanksgiving break! 

The Marathon + BYU in KS

No, I did not run a marathon... I wish (kind of). My sister and her husband signed up to run the Santa Barbara marathon and my parents were flying out to watch their kids. I didn't want to miss out on the fun so I decided to fly out and support them as well. I first flew in to stay with them and see their new house. They bought a fixer upper and the house looks amazing! Seriously, it's like watching HGTV and what they did is incredible:

Before:

After:

And one more. Before:

After:

So fun to see their place and spend time with their family. Anyways, back to the marathon. It was cancelled last minute because not enough people signed up, so they switched to one in L.A. We all road tripped down there and had a blast. My dad is from Pasadena, right by where we stayed, so we went by to see his childhood home. I have so many memories visiting my grandma here, and it was neat to go by again. 

Carrie and Andrew did a great job on their marathon! It was emotional watching all the people completing such a huge feat, and it was so inspiring. It almost makes me want to sign up for one. Here are some pics:

Waiting at the finish line:

All the runners. Two of Andrew's sisters plus a friend joined them last minute!

Cutest London:

Out to eat for dinner at B.J.s

Our tiny little dancer on the hotel bed. She LOVES standing and is always crossing those legs (right over left, always):

That night we were all hanging out in my parents and my hotel room and Andrew really wanted to try this donut place called the Donut Man. He finally convinced his dad and my dad to go with him. Before leaving, they asked if any of us wanted any, to which we all replied "No, we're stuffed!" They know all us girls so well, because they came back with three boxes full and we all went wild trying them all! It was so funny, and we had a blast. My sister's in-laws are so much fun!

We drove back up to San Jose and had flights back Monday morning. We didn't get a picture together all weekend, so we finally snapped one at the airport:

I last minute changed my flight from Salt Lake City to fly back with my parents to Kansas City. BYU was playing Mizzou at Arrowhead stadium in KC, and David planned a last minute guys road trip with his brother and brother-in-law to go out to the game. I didn't want to fly home and be alone in Utah while David left, so I ended up going home for the week and to meet him there. It was so nice being home! 

Crossed legs even during tummy time:

A few other friends came out for the game as well and it was a blast to catch up with them. One of Andrew's other sisters, Jessica, who is also one of my best friends, came out with her family and it was so so fun to see them. They stayed at my parents house with us, and it was nice having some extra time with them. My mom and David's mom watched Kensie and Alice so we could enjoy the BYU game. It was so nice of them and we had a blast! Here we are at the game:

And eating the Danish almond Kringle from Trader Joe's. Get it now, heat it up in the oven to crisp it up, and savor every bite. It's amazing! 

It ended up being two full weeks that I was gone, and although it was so fun, it was nice to be back home in Utah with our little family. Alice was a trooper and has become quite the little traveler (12 flights now). Thank you to all our family for letting us stay with you, we had the best time!