Finally an Update...

I'm so far behind. Please remember that I post chronologically, so be sure to scroll down and look at my latest posts.

We've been doing really well, staying busy.

Ryan - has GRADUATED!!!!!!!!!! We're so proud of him and SO excited that we'll be seeing him more. What an accomplishment!! Great job, honey!!! He continues to enjoy his job at Sorenson Communications and is doing well there. I'm sure he's not going to know what to do with all of his extra time now that he's done with school. We'll be having a HUGE celebration later in the month, so stay tuned for that.

I don't think anyone is more excited than Hailey about Ryan graduating. She is such a daddy's girl and LOVES her dad.

Aubrey - I'm so glad that Ryan is done with school. It has been really hard this last little while on all of us. I'm glad we'll be able to spend some more time together. We've been enjoying our yard this year, since we put in the fence its a lot more enjoyable to be outside. I've been busy planning two family reunions, the last of which is this coming weekend, so that has been keeping me busy.

Hailey - Hailey is a typical 3 year old girl. I talk to some of my friends who have 3 year old girls also, and am so relieved that I'm not the only one going through this. It seems to be something with the age. Sometimes she is as sweet as can be, and other times...I want to sell her to gypsies :). She is so fun though and comes up with some of the craziest things. The other night, she was outside playing with her cousin (another 3 year old girl) and I went out to see what they were doing. Hailey told me that they were "licking a hot dog tree that they planted for Cinderella." Wha??? She's very entertaining and we love her and wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.

We are the Luckiest...

Well since we didn't get our Christmas Card out this year (even though it was completely done - designed and printed out, we just needed envelopes) I figured its about time for an update.

We have been keeping really busy. Ryan just started his 5th semester of his MBA - only one more to go!!! He will be done with his classes in July, but will walk with the graduating class in April. Finally a light at the end of the tunnel!! We are so proud of all the hard work he has done to get this far! He is still really enjoying his job at Sorenson Communications. He hopefully won't have to travel much for training this year - last year he was gone at least once a month. When he's not busy with work and school, he can be found playing "climbing" with Hailey (which basically is just him sitting on the floor and letting her climb all over him), rolling balls with her, reading with her, helping around the house or watching TV with me. He's pretty much amazing - we think that we'll keep him.



Hailey keeps growing and growing, even though we keep telling her to stop. She is a giant chatterbox and talks from sun up to sun down - a trait that I'm told is my fault. She entertains herself most of the day with her active imagination. She has an imaginary friend named Steve. When I asked her if it was her Uncle Steve, she responded "No, just regular Steve." He apparently is a monkey with black ears. He has some puppies that chase her around all the time. Monkey Steve also fell off her bed and broke his leg, his arm, his toes, his forehead and his "backhead" (her words). She complains to me all the time that Steve "is not listening" to her. I just tell her "Welcome to my world, child." She can count to 12 (if the mood suits her), recite books (that we have read a gazillion times) and sing most of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse songs ("The Sensational Six is ready to play, but some of our instruments are broken today..."). She loves to work out on the WiiFit with me. I have taken to getting her her own stool to stand on while I'm on the actual WiiFit, and that works really well for us. My favorite to watch her do are the Hula Hoop (seriously, ask her to do it for you the next time you see her...I promise you won't be disappointed) and the Penguin game - that one because she just laughs the whole time, and who gets sick of a child's laugh?? Not I. Especially hers. She's really into dancing around all the time, lately. Her favorite things to dance to are Mamma Mia and High School Musical (also, coincidentally her favorite movies, lately). Every time she sees something that she wants (a pink mailbox, a pink WiiFit, a pink airplane, a pink car - are we noticing a trend here??) she says "Mommy/Daddy I really want {insert crazy, random request here} for Christmas. Okay?" and then flashes us a HUGE grin. She is a very polite child and says please and thank you for just about everything, which makes me really happy. She loves to talk on the phone and anytime it rings I have to race her to answer it, or she won't give it up. She's HUGELY entertaining and I would highly recommend spending some time talking to her. She's a HOOT and LOVES to be the center of attention.


I have been keeping busy just being a mom and trying to be a good wife. I have been planning a bi-weekly menu that seems to help compulsion spending at the grocery store. Hailey and I also have a weekly baking date - Thursdays - that I really enjoy, though my hips and thighs aren't. Its fun to teach her something that I really love to do, but since I'm such a control freak and perfectionist I have a hard time letting loose a whole lot. I've been doing quite a bit of scrapbooking too, and have made a recent discovery of Photoshop templates, which I have an unhealthy obsession with. I download all the free templates that I can get my hands on. They really seem to help, though, when I haven't got any creativity flowing. Another thing I've been proud of the last few weeks is keeping my sink clear of dirty dishes. I have worked really hard at religiously emptying the dishwasher when its clean so I can always put dirty dishes right into the dishwasher. So far, I think I've done pretty darn good at it - what do you think, honey? Of course there are still areas of housekeeping that I fall short at, but I figure one step at a time, right? I've been trying to work out on the WiiFit quite a bit too, and I have to say I love it. Its so fun and different. I've unlocked all the balance games (though some of them are a little weird - like the one with the candle. What is that???) and quite a few of the exercises.



Well I think that about wraps it up. Hopefully this appeases some of you who have been bugging me (*cough* Shea *cough*) about an update. I'll try to do better for those of you who actually check this.

*The family pictures were taken by my cousin Amanda*

Randomness...

Things have been really quiet at our house lately...nothing really "blogworthy" going on.

Ryan is almost done with 2 of his 3 classes for the semester, which we are all VERY excited about. Its been hard having him gone 3 out of 5 nights in the week. In his spare time, he has been working on making sure we have no more flooding in our basement. He's been digging out window wells and rigging sump pumps and...who knows what else, but we are hoping that it works...flooding basements are getting old...fast.

We are getting really excited about our trip coming up. We'll be going to San Diego, and I've never been to California, so I am VERY excited. We are so due for a vacation, so we are VERY excited.

As many of you know, I was released from my calling in the Primary Presidency on Sunday. The release was bittersweet for me. More bitter than sweet. I hadn't been in as long as the other ladies, and so I felt like the whole experience was cut short for me. I was very emotional on Sunday, and still get a little sad when I think of it. But I have made some great friends in the women that I served with. I hope to remain close to these amazing women. I have learned and grown from then in the short time that I served with them. I'm so grateful for the time I got to spend with the wonderful children in our ward. They are amazing little spirits.

Anyway, enough of that. Just wanted to let you all know that we are still alive, albeit a little boring...

What We've Been Up To...

Wow!! I can't believe that its already September...the summer flew by! We were busy all summer!! We wrapped up the summer with a fun filled Swiss Days. We had a great time with family, fun, and good food. Here's what's been going on with us lately:

[Ryan]
Ryan had the month of August off school, so we (and by we, I mean he) was busy almost every free minute on the yard. I think that it looks pretty awesome and we've gotten so many compliments on it. Ryan-you ROCK! In between work and yard work, he still seemed to manage spend a lot of quality time with us. I think August really spoiled us, as we are all having a really hard time adjusting to Ryan being back at school. I think that Hailey is having the hardest time, she sure loves her daddy, and we wouldn't have it any other way. He's still loving his job, and traveling more than we like for trainings and such. He's an all around awesome guy as always and we are so blessed to have him!

{Aubrey}
I've been keeping busy with a little of everything. We (Hailey and I) tried to do something fun and out of the house every week this summer. We took a few trips to Thanksgiving Point, the library and spent a lot of time playing with our friends in the neighborhood. I love being in Primary and love the ladies that I serve with. I learn so much from them all the time and am grateful for the opportunity to serve with them and serve the kids in our ward. As I said, its an adjustment to have Ryan back in school (3 nights a week!), but we'll do it, and its only for another year (sigh!). I've been trying to catch up on scrapbooking and other projects. (I'll be posting about some of the other things I've been doing on my other blog later on). I still love being a mom more than anything. Hailey keeps me on my toes and laughing all day long.

(hailey)
This kid is growing up too fast!! I look back at pictures from a year ago and can't believe how much she has grown up. She is so busy all the time. She plays pretend, dances, sings, laughs, colors, learns and loves every day. She talks non-stop and copies everything anyone else says/does. She's so smart too. We have a little puppy board book that we've read to her about a half a million times before bed, and the other night she started reciting it to me! I was in awe. She amazes us every day with the things she comes up with and does. Her favorite music to listen to lately is "Mamma Mia!" I took her to see the movie with a bunch of ladies from the neighborhood and I think she stole the show. She was really into the music and dancing in the isles. She was even dancing with the ladies that were sitting behind us. Everyone was cracking up! She came home singing "Mommy Mia! Here we go again!" She's so funny. She imitates stuff that she sees on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse too. She is learning her colors, her favorite is pink. She can count to 10 (for the most part, she still needs a little bit of help as she skips 4, 5, and 6 most times). She loves singing with me. We sing "The Wheels on the Bus" (Her favorite verse is "The mommies on the bus go sh, sh, sh!"), "Popcorn Popping", "Book of Mormon Stories", "You Are My Sunshine" (except I've changed the words to "You are my Hailey" and she loves that), and 5 Little Ducks. She is always "making food" in her kitchen and bringing it to me. She tells me "hot! hot! Let it cool off!" She feeds her Mickey Mouse and her monkey (her favorite toys lately-she takes that Monkey everywhere), pushes them around in her doll stroller, takes them for rides in her car and puts them down for a nap. She is at such a fun little age (most of the time) and we enjoy her little antics. We are so blessed that she is a part of our family.

Anyway, that's what we've been up to. I love being able to keep up with everyone through blogging!

Enjoy some random pictures of our crazy two year old!

silly girl

a tisket, a tasket...

cheese!

This is how she watches TV at night...

Hailey and her cousin, Brock at Swiss Days
(aren't they ADORABLE!?)

she wanted to take a picture of me taking a picture of her....

"eating food"

looking at her belly...

Summer is in full swing!

I can't believe that June is almost over! We have been keeping very busy with many things. Its been a while since I did an "update" post, so here's what we've been up to:

Ryan

He is working so hard! When he's not at work or school it seems like most of his free time lately has been used making our yard look really good. He made my garden box for our vegetable garden; he tilled the side where our extra sidewalk used to be, the front where the bushes used to be, and the back where the bushes used to be, not to mention taking all the ugly bushes out (with help from his dad); he brought in topsoil and fertilizer; he planted the new bushes and flowers; he brought in the brick and placed it all by himself! He's amazing. Our yard looks awesome! We're really pleased with the results! He also makes lots of time for his girls. He's got a few more weeks of school this summer, but is looking forward to time off in August. Since it was Father's Day last week, I want to say a little something about what an amazing father and husband that he is. He always makes as much time for us as he can, even with as busy as work and school keep him. He is such a wonderful father to Hailey and she adores him. He is the first person she asks for in the morning. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them play together and Hailey giving her daddy a sweet hug and kiss, then saying "I yuv you too much, daddy!" (That is her way of saying "I love you so much!" and I think it is precious). I'm so blessed to have Ryan as a husband and father to my children.

Aubrey

I've been keeping pretty busy keeping the two year old busy! We try to get together with some neighbor friends at least once a week to do something to get out of the house. Its been so fun discovering new things with Hailey and the other kids. I have to say that I really love being a mom and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be at home with Hailey and watch her learn and grow. Last, but not least, I am officially (as of Sunday) 26. Ryan made it a special day, first off by having me wake up to my sweet baby girl telling me happy birthday, and ending it by gathering some close friends and family for a delicious ice cream cake. It was so fun and I'm so grateful for the friends that we have made here in our little neighborhood.

Hailey

As always, this little girl is so busy. She is such a ball of energy, attitude and independence. We love her more than words can say! She is learning so many new things lately. She is speaking in 7-10 word sentences, which I think is pretty impressive! She can pretty much tell me exactly what she wants most of the time. She is picking up funny little things that we say and can comprehend more than I thought a two year old would be able to. The other day I was just talking to her and said something like "Alright, kiddo, we need to get cleaned up." She looked at me and patted her chest and said "Name Hailey!" Seriously, where do they pick these things up?!? Yesterday Ryan was trying to put up a ceiling fan and had all his tools out. She loves to try to help daddy when he has his tools out, so she grabbed a screwdriver. She was jumping around with it in her hand and it was making me nervous, so I asked her to give it to daddy. She looked at it, then looked at the one that Ryan already had in his hand and said "Daddy, use yours. This one Hailey's." Today I told her not to do something and she spun around and looked at me and said "Excuse me! Don't act like that!" Then she came over and grabbed my hand and said "I spank you 2 minutes" (everything is 2 minutes lately...) then she shook her finger at me and said "No, no, no!" All things that I say to her on a regular basis. It was hard to keep a straight face. She has become increasingly independent in the last few months. She wants to do everything herself, in fact, if we start to carry her up the stairs, when she hasn't asked to be carried, she cries and asks to be put down, only to go back to the bottom step to DO IT HERSELF!! She likes to buckle herself into her carseat, open and close doors herself and walk without holding hands (something that makes me crazy when we are someplace busy and she could get lost or hurt). She always says, "I do it a self" or "I do it my big self." She has heard Ryan or me say so many times that she is getting too big (especially when she walks up the stairs without help) that sometimes when she walks up the stairs by herself, she will say "Getting too big!" She is a funny girl and we love her love and enthusiasm for all things.

Be sure to go down and look at all the fun things we have been doing this summer!

The Goings-On...

Well we've been busy, busy, busy. Here's what your favorite Sorenson's have been up to!

-ryan-

Ryan has been busy with school and work and not much else. He usually leaves before Hailey and I wake up, and on the nights he has school, he gets home long after she has gone to bed. We hardly see him, so we savor the time we do get with him. He is still really enjoying his job at Sorenson. He likes the people he gets to work with and the different things he gets to do. So far they seem to like him there :) He's so amazing as always and we love and appreciate everything he does for our family.

~aubrey~

I have been busy with little projects here and there. I'm excited for warmer weather! I've been suffering from cabin fever lately, and I think Hailey has been too. I'm so excited to start taking walks, playing at the park and going to Thanksgiving Point! I'm getting the feeling that I need to de-clutter and spruce up the house, so that's a big project that will be in the works. I will be starting to learn photoshop and digital scrapbooking, thanks to Shea, so I'm excited for that, as well. Lately I've been trying to plan menus out ahead of time so we can stick to a set budget. Its fun to go through recipes to try to come up with new and exciting things to serve my family. I love trying new recipes, so its always fun to go through cookbooks or recipe websites. I've started my own blog, one just for me (you can find the link to the right). Its called "A Sweet Escape." Its for my thoughts and opinions. Its my journal, of sorts. I'll hopefully be adding something to that each week, so feel free to visit that blog every so often. I spend my days laughing, loving and learning, its a GOOD LIFE!

{hailey}

Hailey is as cute as ever. She is speaking in sentences now, and constantly surprises me with what she comes up with! We are now having to watch everything we say, because she tries to say EVERYTHING! She is so smart, and I love watching her as she learns new things. She recently learned "six, seven" and says that every time she counts (most of the time skipping one through five, although the other day she counted "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." but I haven't succeeded in getting her to replicate it yet, she just giggles when I ask her to count!) Her favorite movie (yes! we've graduated from "Hairspray!") lately is Enchanted. She will sit through the ENTIRE movie without moving...sometimes. She loves the songs in that movie and sings them in her own little way. (see video here). She is really funny when she quotes some of the lines from the movie, like "He was on the bus this morning, and he tried to KILL ME!" or "I'm so ANGRY!" or "True loves kiss!" She is so fun and getting smarter by the minute. I assume by this time next week she will be smarter than me :) She has a bit of a temper, and is definitely opinionated and independent. She prefers to do most things by herself these days. She sits at her own table for meals and feeds herself and walks up and down the stairs by herself. The other night, I had read her story and we had said prayers for the night, so she got off my lap and started to walk to her room. I said, "Hailey, do you want me to come too?" She turned around, very slowly, looked at me out of the corner of her eye and said, "STAY!" I was a little stunned, and started laughing. I said, "You don't want mama to come with you?" She responded with, "MAMA, STAY!" I told her that I had to put her in her bed (as she is still in a crib) and she said, "No, me do."

I've added a section on the right called "Cute Hailey Quotes" and I'll update it often, as she says some of the cutest things everyday.

Hailey's favorites this month are as follows:
Book - "Caps for Sale", her "Lift & Look" books, and her Hailey book (a photo-book I made on Shutterfly)
Food - cooked carrots, hot dogs and dip
Treat - M&M's (which papa supplies readily), really any type of candy...
Movie - Enchanted
Show - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, PTI, basketball games
Toy - Sheep, cat, keys, and car
Activity - Twirling around making herself dizzy, then falling down and giggling hysterically :)

We hope things are good for all of you out there. Thanks for checking up on us!

Family Update

[Ryan]

Ryan has been keeping really busy with school, his new job, more school, out of town training, and more school. His new job takes him out of town for training more than we would like, but we're adjusting. He is really liking the new job. He's enjoying his trips out of town. He has been able to attend a LA Clippers game (3rd row), a Seattle Sonics game, and an Atlanta Hawks game. At the LA game he high-fived all the Charlotte Bobcat's players as they went into the locker room and Billy Crystal walked right by him! He said that Billy Crystal looked old...kinda like Miracle Max! :) While he was in Seattle he was able to visit the Space Needle and said it was amazing...maybe one day we'll have to go back to Seattle for a family vacation. He's so busy that we don't see him much; even when he's home he's not really "home", but working on homework. We miss him, but are proud of him and grateful for everything that he's doing for our family. He's amazing as always.

{Aubrey}

I am ever the epitome of a housewife and mom. I spend my days running errands, cleaning, playing with Hailey, and trying to find a few minutes to myself! I miss Ryan being around so much, but I am surprising even myself with how much better I am doing each time he goes out of town. I seem to be asking the same question though every time he leaves lately,
"What is going to go wrong this time?"
When he was in Atlanta the first time was when it really started to warm up here...and all the snow started melting...and the basement started flooding. Thankfully, Ryan's dad knows what to do and came and spent 4 hours helping me get the water out of the basement and helping me get a sump pump so the water would stay out of the basement! I really don't know what I would have done without him! Thanks, Dad!!! You were a total lifesaver!! :) And another BIG THANKS to John who lugged 8 sandbags downstairs! Those suckers were heavy!!! The second time he went to Atlanta was when the garbage disposal stopped working. I thought "Why does everything have to happen when Ryan leaves?" Again, a HUGE thanks to Ryan's dad who came by and helped me figure out what was stuck in the dumb contraption and got it working again!! (I know I'm pretty boring...)

~Hailey~

I think that we could make eleventy billion dollars if we could bottle the energy of this child!!!! She is all over the place all the time! She is so full of energy, love, silliness, and frustration! All at the same time! No wonder she can't sit still! She is talking non-stop. There isn't very often that I can't make out what she's saying....although I still have to translate for everyone else ;) I guess that's what happens when you are the mom. She talks in 2-3 word sentences now and she's so funny. She will do something that we ask her to do, then look at us and grin and say "Good girl!" She loves to "help" me with everything. She is right next to me on her little stool wanting to crack eggs, or put away dishes, or pour cereal, or whatever. She loves to color, read, dance, sing and be a little mommy to all her stuffed animals. She is very loving at times ("Kiss a me, mama!") and very stubborn at other times (I wonder where she could possibly get that from?). She has an opinion about everything and is a very independent little person. She wants to do everything herself. We love her and are definitely always entertained!

These pictures are proof of that!!!

What a cheeser!

"Go ahead punk, make my day!"

dancin' dancin' dancin'!

Family Update

- Ryan -
Started a new job with Sorenson Communications (no family relation). He is the Financial Information Systems Analyst. He works with HR, Finance and a little bit with the IT department. He is loving the new job. He's been traveling a lot for training (which I'm not to fond of) but its helping out a lot with his job. He's been to Seattle and LA, and we miss him a lot while he's away. He's been really busy with school too. It seems like the workload is heavier this semester, but he's handling it well. He's had to miss a couple of his classes because of training, but is keeping up well with his class. We love him and appreciate everything that he is doing for our family. He's a good one!

- Aubrey -
I've been busy keeping up with an energetic, endlessly amazing one year old. I've been doing little projects around the house, which keep me busy. I also started Weight Watchers...and I'm proud to say that since I've been on it (3 weeks) I've lost 6 pounds!! I'm pretty impressed with myself! :) I also had the experience of being on Valium...I had my wisdom teeth out and I was walking around in a drug induced haze for 3 days...well I can't really say I was walking...I was mostly on the couch sleeping or reading...I'm only just now coming out of it, which is good since I am on my own for 5 days until Ryan gets back from Seattle. :)

- Hailey -
She is an amazing little girl. She continually amazes us with how smart she is and the things she figures out. She's full of energy, she's got her mother's temper, her father's silly, crooked grin, and her own unique personality. She loves to sing, dance, watch Hairspray and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, play with Elijah, eat snacks and TALK!! All day everyday with her, its a play by play. She has such a LARGE vocabulary!
Here are some of our favorite "Hailey-isms"
guck = milk
yay-ye = Hailey
Tracy = Hairspray
hickey = Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
hink = drink
hum = ice cream
ishus = delicious
me do = I will do it!

She is amazingly perceptive and smart. The other day, after Ryan left, I was crying on the couch, and she came over and gave me a hug and looked at me and asked "Kleenex?" then went and brought me the box of Kleenex!

Since I've been down with my wisdom teeth, she's been watching a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (that's educational, right?). The other day she was watching and they were talking about a pattern. They said "Red, yellow, blue, purple, red, yellow, blue, purple, red, yellow, blue...what comes next?" All of a sudden, she just yells out "PURPLE!" I was in shock! She's such a smart little cookie!!

We love her and are so grateful for her little spirit in our family!

We hope this finds all of you doing well! Leave us a note, we love to hear from our loved ones!

Enjoy some pictures of our little ray of sunshine in this dreary weather! :)

EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!

We are proud to announce that Ryan has accepted the position of Financial Information Systems Specialist with Sorenson Communications in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. He will begin his new job January 16, 2008.

We are so excited for this opportunity!

*Note: There is no family relation between us and the company! :)*

November News

November was a totally crazy busy month for us....we've been
going and going and going and going and going...

Ryan
He's working so hard in school! We are so proud of him. He's been doing really well on assignments, projects and papers. He's preparing right now for finals. We are anxious to see his hard work paid off in awesome grades!
Other than that, he hasn't been doing a whole lot...homework and spending time with Hailey and I don't leave much time for anything else. We are so proud of him and grateful for him and everything he does for our little family!

Aubrey
I have been keeping busy with the errands of the season. I'm happy to report that my Christmas shopping is DONE!!! There are just a few homemade things that I need to finish up...then of course the wrapping, but shopping is done! I'm pretty proud of myself. :)
I've been watching my nephew's 3 mornings a week, so I've gotten a taste of life among mothers of more than one child is like...I have a 3 year old, a one year old and a 9 month old...it's crazy some days. It's lots of fun for Hailey though. Things are pretty busy though, but I survive!

Hailey
As I said before, having her cousins over 3 mornings a week is a blast for Hailey. She LOVES Elijah. The last few times, I don't think she has been so crazy about Declan, though. He was sitting on my lap and she came up and pointed at him and said "Mama, down" and pointed for Declan to get down on the floor. Every time I pick him up, she runs up and wants me to hold her as well. And she DOES NOT like that he sits in HER high chair. Every time he sits in it, she says, "Mama, Hailey's!" She is getting into the "MINE!" stage and has a hard time sharing her toys.
She is soooooo smart, though. She will take her socks off and hold them both up in the air and say "Two!" I don't really know where she even picked it up. I haven't really practiced counting with her. She remembers so many things, as well. We were at the shoe store the other night and she found a pair of shoes that looked just like a pair that her little friend, Teagen has. She picked up the box and took the shoes out and came running over to me saying "Te-te! Te-te!" (that is what she calls Teagen). I couldn't believe it! She also found a pair of shoes that she likes (imitation croc's) and took her shoes off and put the ones she liked on-ON THE RIGHT FEET! Where does a one year old learn that!? She knows at lunch time when I take 3 corn dogs out to put in the oven one of them is for her, one is for Elijah and one is for me. She will point to each one of them and say "Yay-ye (Hailey). La-la (Elijah). Mommy." She points to pictures and says everyone's names. Actually one day, I was talking to my brother on the phone (I had him on speaker phone) and she was sitting there listening to us talk. All of a sudden she looks at me and says "Tyson!" I was totally amazed!
She is becoming an expert at throwing trash away. She can recognize that something is trash and knows where it goes. In fact, more often than not, she will make you get up right then and help her put it in the garbage can. She also enjoys cleaning spilled water (of course she makes the mess first...what fun would it be otherwise?) She will see that there are little drops of water on the floor, say "towel" and "mess" and go grab the dish towel and clean it up.
She follows directions remarkably well for a child her age. I'll ask her to go get Declan's bottle from the car seat and bring it to me (just like that) and she can do it! Her doctor is sooo impressed! She is very polite, as well. She hardly has to be prompted to say "please" and "thank you" anymore. She's getting the hang of "sorry" too. I'm so impressed!
She LOVES going to bed. More often than not, she will opt not to read a story, but just to go straight to bed. I've never known a child that LIKES going to bed, let alone will give up a story to go straight to bed. :)
We love her and are endlessly amazed and amused by her.

Please be sure to check out all of the latest posts, especially "Elf Yourself"! That one is particularly amusing!

Updates!!

Hello all! Here's a little peek at what's been going on in our lives!

- Ryan -
Started the Professional MBA program at University of Utah in September. He is doing awesome!! For all who didn't see my post at the beginning of the month click here. He is also working full time at Jacobsen Construction. He is amazing. He works all day, goes to school 2 nights a week (from 6-10pm), studies AND he still helps around the house and finds time to spend with Hailey and me! I am just amazed at him and so grateful for all he is doing!!

- Aubrey -
Started a new business. I signed up to be an independent consultant for Lia Sophia Jewelry. With Christmas coming up and student loans looming in our future, I wanted to contribute some extra income. It is a lot of fun and I'm enjoying it so far! I also started watching Elijah and Declan a couple mornings a week. They are so much fun and SUPER easy!! Elijah and Hailey pretty much just cancel each other out because they play so well together, and Declan is seriously the EASIEST baby EVER!! They are fun!! Other than that, Hailey and I play together and have a blast! She is so fun! I love being a mom!

- Hailey -

She is the most fun! I love this child, she makes me laugh every day!! She is talking like MAD!! I sat down the other day and decided to try and count how many words she can say...I came up with 50+ words that she can say!!! I'm going to post a video at the end of this entry with some of the words she can say (and yes I know that only I would know what some of them are, but seriously? She is cute!!) She is so smart and curious and just loves life! She is amazing!! She can make the sounds of a dog, horse, cat, duck and cow. She knows where most of her body parts are. She loves to be outside, which is sad right now, because it is so cold! She is always much happier if she can spend a little time outside each day, so I don't know what I am going to do when it gets even colder!! When she needs help with something, she will say "Hep!" but then if she figures it out she says "Got it!" She was sitting in a booster chair at the table for a few days, but now is back in her high chair...I think because she was jealous that Declan was sitting in it! She will bonk her head, and then start hitting her head. So I'll ask her if she hit her head and she'll say "Ya! Hug!" and run to me with her arms up waiting for a hug! So cute!

One really cute story about her: I went in to get her after her nap yesterday and she was standing, looking over the side of her crib at her binky, which was on the floor.
I said "Hi!"
She said "Hi! Binky?" and pointed to her binky on the floor.
I said "Is your binky on the floor?"
She said "Ya...."
I said "Did you throw it on the floor?"
She said "No..."
I said "Did Gus (her bear) throw it on the floor?"
She never missed a beat and sadly said "Ya..."
I couldn't stop laughing! I had to call Ryan at work and tell him!!

Thats things in our lives! Hope things are going well for everyone! We'd love to hear from you!! Email, call, or just leave us a comment!!

Family Pictures!!

YAY! Our family pictures are done!!

I'm really pleased with how they turned out! I was not optimistic, as Hailey was in a very un-cooperative mood, but we got some really good shots! I've only posted a few of my favorites. If you want to view the rest of the photos, click here.