Christmastime 2014

 

Sam ready to meet Santa for the first time
at the Taylor family party :)

One of my favorite pictures ever.
During bathtime, I caught Sam just staring at this picture
of his sister. Swoon!

Chloe and Rudolph understand:
the things that make you different
make you amazing!

I mean.... does it get any cuter?!

The Sunday before Christmas, we were planning on making it to church,
but the kids had different plans. Chloe was having a meltdown and Sam
was needing a nap and being extra fussy. The combination was too much
and none of us made it. Then an hour or so later, both kids were happier
than ever, smiling and laughing! I decided okay we may have missed church,
but I better get some pix in their Christmas best I bought for this year!
And I'm so glad I got them dressed even though we were just staying at home
because seriously how cute are these pictures!

Move over Anna and Elsa, there's a new ice princess in town ;)

The dapper-est little dude I've ever known.
But he will not keep hats on, no matter how cute they are!

 

This picture pretty much sums up
how Chloe felt about Christmastime
AND how Sam felt about it! Oh my!

There's just something about this picture.
I don't know exactly what it is,
but it makes my heart swell.
It's simple, but it's the details that get me.
So grateful for this life.

 

A few days before Christmas, Chloe was being extra fussy.
Oby decided perhaps she was just bored
and decided she needed Santa to bring one of her presents
a little early. So we told her how Santa sent an elf just to her
a few days before Christmas because he heard she wasn't feeling well.
She got this iCraze iPad stand and was able to watch Barney
on Netflix while she was laid up from her hip surgery.
She thought the elf, Santa's special treatment, the stand, and Barney
were all THE COOLEST things ever! She was happy...
for at least an hour! LOL! But seriously, I'll take it! ;)

Happy girl!

The iCraze was a hit!

Christmas Eve at my mom's. I am IN LOVE with Sam's face in this pic!

Oby and I on Christmas Eve.

This cutie patootie did pretty good on Christmas Eve for about an hour
(that seemed to be her max during the hip surgery recovery period).
She sure looked cute during that hour, though! But wouldn't look at me for a picture! Haha!

 

Is there anything better than Christmas Eve as a parent?
All that work comes down to this moment when you stand back
and see the gifts under the tree and anticipate the next morning.
Magic!

When we went to bed on Christmas Eve, there was no snow.
When I woke up early Christmas morning, it was a white Christmas!
We had been envisioning our home at Christmastime since the moment
we saw it and here it was. It was every bit as beautiful as I had dreamed.
Life is good!

Christmas morning was perfection!
Chloe did relatively well and Sam was crazy excited!
My parents came over for breakfast and we decided
that should be a new tradition.

One of Chloe's favorite Christmas gifts was this
"Awesome Book of Awesome Faces" that I made with Chatbooks.
You can see it here:
http://chatbooks.com/share/volume/IzOny6TbK9BiONAKIi7u8pdmtmVlDNksZBv5SZ0V

The day after Christmas, we took Sam out to play in the snow.
His first time in snow was a hit! He loved it!
Me too, Sam. Me too.

Fall 2014

Random cuteness:

 

What do you do when you realize your baby has
dumped the dog water and has the dog bowl in his mouth?
Grab your camera and take a picture because the damage is already done!
Ewww gross! But sooo cute!

This kid's facial expressions!
And no, we haven't become hippies.
Sam was having a terrible time teething
and several people recommended these necklaces
that release natural anti-inflammatories into the skin.
And it worked! So he wore it all the time for quite awhile.

He plays the piano AND sings!

Cutest napping buddies EVER.

Playing with one of Chloe's old toys at Grammy's house.



My blogging friend, Kristina, from How Life Happens came to Utah
for a CMV conference. It was amazing to get to meet her!
Even though we had never met before, our lives have paralleled over
the past 5 or so years and we have been there for each other
in the blogosphere and on Facebook.
What a treasure! I think she liked meeting us too, but especially Chloe! ;)



"Sometimes when you sleep, I watch you dream and I dream too."

Croup never looked so cute!

Just chillin'! Such a fun kid!

Annual tradition in the fall: Maddox for lunch followed by getting
tomatoes and peaches and whatever else to can!
I only canned peaches and made fresh salsa, but it made me feel
domestic enough. ;)

Chloe got a wicked viral bug and I don't know that she had ever been so sick.
She was admitted for IV fluids for a couple days and it took her another
week or so to be even remotely healthy. It was a hard and very sad time
to realize how truly fragile she is. Yet look at those sweet smiles. Love her.

My parents and Oby's parents help out so much. We are so blessed!
This day, my dad got Chloe off the bus while I was doing something
else and my mom had Sam. That seems more complicated than it had to be,
but I don't remember the details. Anyway, aren't they awesome
to help out? Love them!

Oby shaved his beard so I got a picture to document how handsome
his face is - when you can see it! Chloe thinks so too :)

Love when Sam just stops his busy baby ways to lie by his sister
and visit for a minute. Chloe loves it too.

My friend, Sunnee, is the bestest. And Sam is a HUGE flirt!
Seriously, I am going to be in big trouble in a few years!

I forgot the double stroller for an appointment one day.
So the receptionist brought Sam in and laid down a blanket,
then I brought Chloe in and we took over the waiting room.
Lesson learned: do not forget the stroller for heck sakes! :P

Beau Chet Stark:



Beau Stark 12/17/84 ~ 11/21/14 

One morning, I was playing a new version of Nearer, My God, to Thee on the piano. And I suddenly had the strongest feeling about my cousin Penny and her daughter Katie. I felt like I just needed to make an effort to reach out to them more. It was such a strong feeling that I really thought about stopping what I was doing and calling Penny right then. But Penny is likely the busiest person I know. Even when she was helping me sell my house, I didn't like to call and bug her because she's just SO busy! So I noted the feeling and decided to give her a call later. Then a couple hours after that, my mom called and said she had terrible news, that Penny's son, Beau, had committed suicide. We were all devastated, of course. He left behind a beautiful wife and two sweet children and no one would have guessed he was feeling that way. It was a reminder to always tell people how you feel and show lots of love and compassion because you really never know what someone is going through. I thought about how I had just been thinking of Penny and felt like the song I had been playing held some meaning. So that night when I went to visit the family and give them a big, giant hug, I told them about the experience and said I felt like maybe they should read the lyrics or something. Penny called me a couple days later and asked if I would play that song at Beau's funeral, which of course I did.

It was this version:

 

Sam and I on the day of the funeral.

Fall Leaves:

 

 

 

Halloween:

 

I loved the way the witch silhouette looked in my window!

I had been planning these Viking-themed costumes for at least 6 months.
Sam's was too small, Chloe's was too big, and no one liked them.
Aaahhh! Good thing I had back-ups and the back-up plan was awesome!....

Cutest. Annie. Ever.

Annie, Daddy Warbucks, and Sandy. To die for!

Chloe thought these terrifying masks were hilarious!
And we thought her thinking the masks were hilarious was hilarious!

All the cousins at Nana's party.

Chloe & I at the party.

On Halloween, Chloe wasn't exactly in a festive mood so I opted for simpler costumes
and just threw on some monster hats and called it good. They looked cute and we had fun
at our traditional Chili and trick or treating at the Norseth's!

Sam turned ONE:

 

We had these pix taken just two days before his actual birthday by Paige Davis Photography and I think they turned out splendidly!

 

 

 

His birthday party was Uno themed. He had an Uno shirt so Chloe got a Wild shirt. It was fun to have a party at OUR house, the first time we have ever done that!

 

 

 

 

 

On his actual birthday, we didn't do much. I didn't even get him in a cute outfit! But we did go by to say hi to give birthday wishes to his birthday pal, Great Grandpa Phil.











 

 

Thanksgiving:

 

I adore this picture of Chloe from a few years ago holding this
pumpkin of my mom's. I decided we needed a pic of Sam holding it.
How cute are they.

We have never done Thanksgiving with my brother's family! It took a little bit of arm twisting to get them to come from Montana, but they finally agreed! I was SOOOoooo happy about it and loved every second! This was a rare treat of just our family just hanging out. Much to be thankful for!