35

Usually all the posts on this blog are dedicated to all things Amelia. But I decided to give a much deserved post to her Daddy, who just had a big birthday. Yesterday we celebrated Mark's 35th birthday. Unfortunately he had court, so he couldn't take the day off, but we still found ways to spend time with him throughout the day which included eating at some of our favorite places for all 3 meals!

It started off with trucking to breakfast at Paradise Bakery at 7:15 with a balmy temperature of 22 degrees. No pic to document it, but it was really fun to get Amelia out and about so early. She couldn't figure out what was going on because she was put in the car in her jammies and it was dark outside! We later met my whole family for lunch at Rumbi, and again no pic to document it. It is also my sister Allyson's birthday, so it was a shared birthday event. My sister Melissa was nice enough to offer to watch Amelia that night so Mark and I could have a nice dinner together, at of course our favorite place, the Garden Cafe at the Grand America. Mmmmmm. We tried a few new things and they were all delicious. The presentation always amazes me. The salad had a wrapped crouton, the free range chicken had the most delicious glaze and as always the most mouth-watering mashed potatoes. And then for dessert, Mark fell in love with Smores. Not the typical camp fire smores. Oh no, these were amazing. A homemade almond glazed marshmallow with a layer of chocolate baked inside, homemade graham crackers, chocolate sauce, and an english toffee ice cream with caramel strips. Delicious. Of course I had the bread pudding which might be my most favorite dessert. We are both hitting the gym hard today after all the food we ate, but it was so much fun!

He opened his presents when we got home, and of course, I have no pics to document it. I don't know what my problem was! He got a bunch of "grown-up" clothes like ties, cuff link shirts, and shoes. But the best was saved for last...everyone went in on a home theatre system for our movie room downstairs. Way awesome.
So Happy Birthday Mark! Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Amelia's First Christmas!

I think I've waited as long to celebrate Amelia's first Christmas as I did to actually give birth! It's one of those things that I used to daydream about and I can't believe it's come and gone. It was magical and perfect and she made it the best Christmas I've ever had. Hands down. We started off the festivities with a visit to Temple Square to see the lights. Amelia was in awe. Her eyes were huge all night. Then we were able to see Holli and her kids for another 2 seconds before they headed back to California, so Amelia and Jax got to play together for a minute. I sure miss my friends, especially around the holidays. (That means especially you Nat.) Amelia sure loves our new car and she wanted a chance behind the wheel - she takes after me with her need to drive already! And I can't help it, but I had to get about the 500th bathtub picture. That face kills me! Then we had to grab a pic in her Christmas dress for church - the darling little jacket didn't make it in the pic. Bummer. Then the week of parties started. First with my Mom's on the 22nd. We had a special visit from Cousin Eddie, aka my brother-in-law Jason. Every year he gets us rolling with laughter by staying in character all night, outfit and all. The party was great and Amelia loved all the commotion. She loved the boxes the best - forget the presents. Her special gift to me that night was her first time peeing on me as we were getting her in the tub. So thoughtful. The 23rd was always the party with my Grandparents, but since they are gone, my Uncle Bruce has carried on the tradition. It's so strange how family dynamics change as we age. Then the 24th was our evening with Mark's family. Such a fun night with Grandma Kass. Amelia has this little chair that she loves sitting in and it's the cutest thing. She also discovered the piano - I think she's a natural! Getting her ready for bed on Christmas Eve was different than all the other nights. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with just the magic of Christmas. I even waited to put some of her presents under the tree until she went to bed. (Like she would know the difference!) Christmas morning was magical as well. Even though she wasn't crazy about opening all the presents and Mark had to do most of them for her, it was still a once in a lifetime experience to witness her very first Christmas morning. We let her stay in jammies until we got over to my Mom's and we just hung out there the rest of the day. The best gift of all came toward the end of the day. She didn't want to sleep in the pack 'n' play, so I held her in my arms, where for the first time since she was maybe 8 weeks old, she fell asleep on me. Truly magical and the best part of the day. Tuck got a little jealous, so he felt the need to get a part of me too. Watching her sleep made me realize how blessed I am to have her. And especially at Christmas when we need to remember another baby in another time. How grateful I am to know we are an Eternal family because of Him. This year has been incredible and my words can't do it justice. I can't believe how Motherhood has changed my life and how I can't imagine a world without Amelia in it. I apologize for the long post and the bazillion pictures to follow. I just love her SO much!!!

Some fun things...

The last few weeks have been pretty dang fun. Her first Thanksgiving, which was SO great. We went to my sister Melissa's house and Amelia stayed up WAY past her bedtime, but we all seemed to survive. We are definitely thankful for our little "turkey" this year. I caught a pic of her sleeping with her hands clasped and it just melts my heart when I look at it. We had our ward party and it was so funny - Mark did a big singing number with some other fellas in the ward...maybe I'll put a clip of it on if he doesn't mind. Holli came to town so we saw her for an afternoon and Amelia waved bye-bye for the first time to her! It was so dang cute and I kick myself that I didn't catch it on video. Kindermusik is a blast as always and my Mom and Grandma Kass came to this weeks class. So fun. And, the best news for last...I finally got my Honda Pilot. It's been years of plotting and dreaming and we decided to just give in and do it. You could say Santa came a little early this year! Amelia loves being higher up so she can see out the window. I guess grown-ups still can play with toys because I'm having a blast playing with it!