Goodbye 2009......Hello 2010

Our family has so much to be thankful for this year. We had a great year as a family and can't believe how big our girls are getting. My friend Megan did a summary of 2009 on her blog and I thought it was a great idea.

January
In January we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. I also had been on maternity leave from J.P.Morgan for almost 3 months, and met with my boss to official quit my job after working there three years. It was hard to leave since I loved my job, but nothing beats staying home with my kids.

February
At the beginning of February, I wasn't feeling myself after having our daughter Madison two months prior. I wasn't sure if it was postpartum depression or if I just had something else wrong with me entirely. As Chris and I drove around with our two girls in the car, I started listing the symptoms of how I felt and it hit me. I knew I was pregnant. Yes, pregnant after having a baby 9 weeks earlier. I didn't think I could mentally or physically handle being pregnant while caring for a brand new baby, but somehow almost twelve months later.....I'm still alive (but barely)! Chris fractured his Tibia kick starting his friends motorcycle and had to stay in a brace for six weeks.

March
First month we didn't have two incomes coming into our household. Started a new budget and spent the month making cuts where we could.

April
The first weekend of April was General Conference so we enjoyed my in-laws and Chris' Uncle Danny coming to spend a few days with us. We also celebrated Easter and Ashley had such a great time dying eggs and wearing her pretty Easter dress to church.

May

In May my Mom came to visit to help me get the new baby's room ready and to spend some time with Ashley and Madison. She was also here when I had my ultrasound, which told us we were having our third girl. We knew it was a girl even before the doctor told us. We both think it's a blessing not a curse to have three girls, but ask us what we think when we have three girls all in high school together! I also shot a gun for the first time.

June

Ashley started her first swim lessons this month and did a great job for swimming once or twice before. Spent the last few days of June in Arizona at my parents house, with my older sister and her kids.

July

The first few days of July were spent in Arizona as well. We enjoyed the fireworks with my parents and sisters family. My brother Allen got married on July 3rd and had a beautiful wedding.

August & September

These months are a blur. I don't have much on my calendar or much to write about. Just continued to get ready for the baby's arrival. I remember these two months as the hardest of my pregnancy. Madison was getting too big to carry as pregnant as I was. I was blessed with good friends who watched my kids, cleaned my house, brought in meals, and took care of my family. I couldn't ask for better friends.

October

Busy, busy, busy month.

I celebrated my 29th birthday on the 13th.

Rylee arrived to our family on 15th.

My in-laws came to help take care of the family while I recovered. The day they left, my mom came into town to take over for a few days.

Ashley celebrated her 3rd birthday on the 26th.

Chris celebrated his 31st birthday on the 28th.

We had a fabulous Halloween.

November

Madison celebrated her first birthday on Thanksgiving. I cooked my first ever Thanksgiving meal and we enjoyed the company of our friends the Oyler's. I also looked back on my first year of being our ward Relief Society President. I didn't think I would even make it a month, let alone a year. I'm loving it!!!!!!

December

I just blogged about a bunch of our December activities. Christmas parties, new traditions, etc.

Bring on 2010! Can't wait!

Christmas 2009

Ashley and Madison had stayed up so late on Christmas Eve, that they slept in until nine o'clock Christmas morning. I had been up with Rylee a few times, otherwise 9 a.m. would have been a great time to get up!!

We got the girls out of their bed and then Chris filmed them as they entered the family room to see what Santa brought. Ashley had been asking for a pink bike, a train, and a dolly for weeks.

The first thing she did after taking it all in, was to sit on her bike. It's a bit big for her now, but I was hoping by Spring it will fit her.


Madison opening one of her toys.




Ashley super excited to see a Dora purse.




Chris opening his present from his parents.




Opening my present I got from Chris. A new Ipod. I couldn't figure out how he got that purchase by me without me noticing, until he told me he spent our American Express reward points on it. I love this guy! Free Christmas presents!


After opening all the presents, we talked with our parents on the phone and then took the girls for a drive. We then came back and Chris watched the girls while I spent a few hours on finalizing the new visiting teaching lists that I was getting out the upcoming Sunday. He is such a trooper. We watched one of the movies we got for Christmas and then hit the sack. It was a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Eve Festivities

The one tradition we have kept every year since we got married is Mexican food on Christmas Eve. Mexican food is our favorite, and Chris can cook it really well, so we decided eight Christmas Eve's ago, that this would be our one crazy tradition that was different from most families. It is also the guaranteed one night I get off from cooking because Chris kicks me out of the kitchen while he prepares his masterpiece.

He normally makes enchiladas and tacos, with a side of rice and beans. Each year he tweaks it a bit. This year he tried homemade enchilada sauce which was really good. He also included an authentic Mexican drink, but the aftertaste reminded me of chili powder so I wasn't a big fan. Next year we have decided we want to make homemade tamales.


My beautiful family eating the wonderful dinner.


After dinner Ashley wanted to write her note for Santa to leave with his treat and glass of milk. She asked me to write Santa's name on the note and draw a reindeer. If you look closely enough on some of the pictures, you can see how awful my reindeer actually is!!




Madison wanted to get in on the action.....so she made a note for Santa too.







Now that Ashley is old enough to understand traditions, etc. we thought we would start the pajama tradition. They each got to open a present on Christmas Eve and it was a new set of pajamas (or at least new to them since I got each pair at the used kids clothing store Kid to Kid....I love that place). After opening their pajamas we gave them each a bath and then put the pajamas on them. We tried taking a picture of all three, but couldn't get them all to look at the same time. What can you expect with three small children. Red was the theme this year for the pajamas. When Ashley saw Madison open her pajamas which were silky, and then compared them to her own, she asked if she could wear Madison's! Next year I'll try to match all three pairs of pajamas so we don't have this problem again!










After the girls strutted around in their new PJ's, Ashley sat down to listen to the Night Before Christmas read by her Grandpa and Nana Brown. The book they bought allowed them to record their voices as they read it. She would listen to one page read by Nana and the next page by Grandpa. I think she listened to them read this book about fifty times over the few days before Christmas. It is something my girls will be able to pull out each year and hear their Grandpa and Nana's voice.






The final activity of the evening was having Chris read Luke 2 from the Bible. Ashley said she wanted to be Mary and grabbed this blanket to put on her head. Chris and I couldn't help but giggle. She has really come to understand who Jesus is and that he loves her. We have a picture of Him in our room and she will look up at the picture and say, "Mommy, Jesus loves me." It melts my heart each time she says it.


As she was settling down for bed, Ashley saw me making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. This is a tradition my family has done for years. She helped me roll out the dough.


Before she could go to bed, Ashley wanted to leave her note for Santa with a glass of milk and pumpkin roll. Yes, pumpkin roll not cookies. Pumpkin rolls are wonderful treats my mother-in-law has made for years and I made a few this year. That is what she wanted to leave for Santa, and trust me, Santa was much happier about eating the pumpkin roll than a cookie!


I had to take a picture of the note Santa left Ashley.

So many Christmas activities, so little time........

December is always a busy month for our family, just as I am sure it is busy for everyone else. We normally head to Arizona the day or two after Christmas to spend a week with family, however we decided this year for various reasons, that we were going to stay home. It was a lot less stressful than normal, since I wasn't trying to get three kids and myself ready for a twelve hour drive in the snow.

We did lots of fun things before Christmas. Our ward has a playgroup on Wednesday mornings at the church. A week or so before Christmas we had our last playgroup of the year, where we got together and did Christmas crafts with our kids. We then celebrated with a pizza party and each of the children exchanged homemade gifts or gifts they bought under a dollar. I forgot to take pictures of our party but I think everyone had a great time. My friend Mariana and I had gotten together a few days before the party and sewed cute little snowman pockets out of felt that we filled with treats. The snowmen is the present both our daughters gave to the kids at the gift exchange. I wish I would have taken a picture of them too. They were really cute.

We also began the first annual gingerbread house making party at our home. When I was growing up my best friend Anna lived across the street from me. Every year since I was three, they invited me over to build and decorate a gingerbread house. It was such a fun tradition that I had looked forward to every year. I wanted to keep this tradition going with my girls, so this year we hosted the party at our house. We had lots of Ashley's friends come over and their moms helped them decorate their houses. I was finally able to get Ashley to pose for a picture with her house, even though it had begun to fall apart.




Every Christmas it is a tradition for Nana Brown to send our girls their yearly Christmas dress to wear to church the Sunday before Christmas. This year, with my early morning meeting at 7 a.m., I didn't have much time to get home, get them in their dresses and then get their picture taken before we rushed out the door for church. Nap time for Madison is right as church is ending, so every time we walk back in the door after three hours of meetings, Madison is usually half asleep or super cranky. This Sunday was no different. She fell asleep on the short ride home and stayed asleep even as Chris was trying to get her to stand up for her picture in her dress. She then did wake up, but wanted nothing to do with sitting with her sister for the picture. I always love to see what Nana has picked out for them each year because the dresses are always so pretty.






Rylee had also fallen asleep by the time we got home so this is the best shot I could get of her in her dress.



The Monday before Christmas, a bunch of moms and their children from my church got together to go to Discovery Gateway, which is a huge indoor learning and activity center for kids. I believe there were thirty-four of us total that went that day. Ashley had a lot of fun and I know she was glad to have a bunch of her friends there with her.

Ashley at the water activity station.


My friends chatting while the kids play.


Madison playing in the area designated for the younger toddlers.


Madison, Kelly, and Ahna





Ashley and Madison enjoying the ball area.





Simon and Jill


Kyla with her niece and nephew, Vangie and Dylan. She is holding and playing with Madison which she does a lot for me. She is a HUGE help when it comes to caring for my kids. I can never take all three of them to a place like this without the help.





Rylee wishing she was old enough to play with her sisters!


My friend Amy entertaining her son Russell and Ashley with Mr. Potato heads.


After a long day at the Discovery Gateway, my friend Mariana had invited me that evening to the Nutcracker. She had received four tickets and her husband wasn't interested in going, so luckily I was next in line!!! She thought of the wonderful idea of taking our two daughters with us who are just a few months apart in age. We decided to make a girls night of it! We started the evening with dinner in downtown Salt Lake at Olive Garden, which is right across the street from the Capitol Theater. The girls loved dinner and decided to show everyone sitting around us at Olive Garden how they could twirl their dresses, just like they did in the video below. They told both Mariana and I that it was our turn to twirl even though both of us didn't have dresses on, but we humored our daughters anyway and twirled directly outside our booth.

After dinner we walked across the street to the Capitol Theater. We arrived plenty early and thought we would need to walk around for awhile to try to get the wiggles out. The girls had no interest in being distracted, they wanted to sit in their chair until it started. I think they were afraid they were going to miss it. They did absolutely wonderful during the entire performance. I only had to take Ashley out once towards the end of the two hour performance because she was thirsty. At intermission she got a bit frustrated that we hadn't stayed in our seats because she thought we were missing part of the ballet. It was such a wonderful evening.....one I won't ever forget.

Meeting at Mariana's house. Ashley didn't want to smile for any pictures until Mariana's husband, Brian, bribed Ashley with a penny. It totally worked!



Capitol Theater offers the children seat cushions to sit on so they can see better over the adults heads.


Ashley and Jillian


The four of us before it started.


Ashley loved the nutcracker and wanted a picture with him.


Took this picture of Mariana, Jill and Ashley sitting in our seats. We had great seats that were 15 or 16 rows from the front directly in the middle. As soon as I took this picture, a gentleman that worked for Capitol Theater approached me and told me I could not take any more pictures......so this was the last one!