Happy Birthday Kimmie!

Wow, this past year has gone by so fast! Today is Kimmie's 1st Birthday:) We had a little birthday BBQ this afternoon to celebrate. I was so excited for her to eat her cake & when the moment came she could care less about the cake!!! She was getting sleepy but all she wanted to do was get down and walk around:) She loves to walk (while holding your hands). She hasn't attempted walking on her own, but she wants to walk more and more so I know it will happen soon. I can't believe my little girl is already 1! I remember when she was born they told us she would be considered a "preemie" until her first birthday. But looking at her today you would never know she was born 6 weeks early. She is so playful, loves to laugh and gets into EVERYTHING! She talks a lot too. She says mama, dada, Scott (which sounds like cot), papa, dog & her favorite word is CAR! She says car for everything! She has also started this new thing where she crawls to your feet and says "up! up! up!" I don't mean to brag but our little girl is so smart:)
Kimmie has also learned how to drink from a straw. We have tried letting her drink from a straw before but she couldn't figure it out. Then we went to dinner at The Melting Pot a few nights ago and she did it! It was so cute, she would drink from it & every time I tried to take a picture she would stop drinking & smile. She is such a little ham!
Kimmie received a lot of great presents for her birthday. (Thank you everyone) Seth & I bought her new car seat & as soon as she wakes up from her nap we are taking her out in it! She finally gets to face forward, which I know she is going to love! Seth also bought her first dolly & she got many other fun toys & cute clothes. She is such a spoiled little girl! I have been anticipating this day for while and now it is almost over. It has brought a lot of different emotions and I just want to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father. He has blessed me with an AMAZING husband and a beautiful little girl. I never knew my life would be this amazing. I am so blessed and I love my family so much. Each day with them is a blessing & words cannot express how thankful I am!
Here are some more recent pictures, enjoy!

Breaking Dawn

So I finished Breaking Dawn last night & I LOVED it, of course!!! I thought the ending was perfect, but she also left it open for possibly another book (I can hope, right?!?). It took me 4 days to read the series and I am kind of sad I'm done. I really enjoyed reading them & I am way excited for the movie to come out!
On to more important things....Kimmie will be 1 in 9 days! I can't believe it. This past year has flown by so fast. We are not doing anything big for her birthday, just dinner with Seth's family. I am going to make her a little cake & I can't wait to see how she does with it! We will take lots of pictures. We are heading to Utah on the 20th for Spencer's blessing. It will be nice to see my family again & visit with old friends.

I am hooked!!!

So hooked may not be the best word to describe it, I am OBSESSED! All of my friends talk about these books & until Saturday I had never given them any thought. I finally got sick of everyone blogging about it, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. I borrowed Twilight from my sis-in-law, Cyndy, and began reading Saturday afternoon while Kimmie was napping. I had NO idea what I was in for! I couldn't put it down!!!! I read every chance I could. I stayed up later than I should have that night, but I was so involved in Edward & Bella that I couldn't put it down. After church on Sunday Seth was great enough to watch Kimmie while I curled up in bed with the book. Seth's dad even brought me lunch in bed, thanks!!! By early Sunday evening I had finished Twilight & started New Moon. I stayed up a little too late that night too. Monday I read any chance I could, and got most of my reading done while Kimmie napped. I polished off New Moon by Monday evening & started Eclipse. I cannot believe how much I was loving these books! Why hadn't I read them sooner?!?!? Well, it is Tuesday afternoon & I just finished Eclipse. Cyndy is bringing by Breaking Dawn in a couple hours. I wish I had it now! Kimmie is still napping & I can hardly wait to see what happens. Okay, so I know this blog makes me sound really dumb, especially to those who haven't read the books, but it has been a long time since I have read a book that occupies my mind the way this one does!! I only hope the movie is a s good If you haven't read them, you better run out & get them NOW. But be prepared, you will not want to do anything else but read:) I hope I haven't neglected Seth & Kimmie too much. Seth asked me what I am going to do once I finish Breaking Dawn.....my only answer is read them again;)

Spencer is home!

So I forgot to mention it in the previous post but Spencer has been home for a little bit now. He is doing great! Tina & Scott are doing well too, tired of course, but happy to have him home! I can't wait for our trip in August when I will get to hold him for the first time:)

video

Here is the video of Kimmie picking blueberries, enjoy! (be sure to pause the music if you want to hear sound on the video)

Oh yeah, Kimmie learned how to climb stairs today! Look out, we are in trouble now!!!!

Time to catch up

Here are some recent pictures to catch everyone up.....

Ok, so here is what has been happening with us lately........
Seth's brother, Christopher, went into the MTC today. He will be spending the next two years serving in the Richmond Virginia Mission. Good luck Christopher, we will miss you! Kimmie has been teething like crazy. It has caused fluid to build up in her ears. It has not turned into an ear infection but it makes her extremely uncomfortable and causes frequent night waking. She now weighs 20 lbs 13 oz and will turn 1 in 3 weeks! She loves "cruising" along furniture and anything else she can. She will be walking before we know it. Yesterday I took her for a walk and there was a man walking his dog ahead of us. She looked at him and said "DAG". Then she said it three more times! It was so cute! She is so smart. She says dada all the time and also says mama. A couple days ago when Seth walked in the room she pointed and said "dada". It is an amazing thing to watch her learn and grow each day. She is starting to understand who dada & mama are which is great. I guess the overall message I am trying to get across is our little Kimmie is great & amazing! Since this is our blog I reserve the right to brag about our little girl all I want:)
Spencer is doing really good. He no longer has any tubes in! They are just trying to get him to gain a little weight & he will be able to go home. I know Tina & Scott are anxious to settle in with him at home. Nicky is doing good in Utah. She is working 3 days a week and getting ready for school to start next month. Seth is all registered for classes at Portland State but they don't start until Sept. 29th so we have a while to enjoy having him around:) Oh yeah, and the best news today is I have finally reached my pre-pregnancy weight. Actually, I am 2 lbs lighter:) I put on my favorite pair of old jeans today and they fit great (a little snug in the hips but I expected that since my hips are a little wider now.) Now my goal is to lose a little more weight before we get pregnant again. I plan to workout through my next pregnancy & hopefully not gain 55 lbs like I did with Kimmie. Oh well, Kimmie was worth every pound!
I tired uploading a video of Kimmie picking blueberries, but it will not work for some reason. She LOVES picking berries from the bush on the side of the house. She is so independent, she has to do it herself!

Spencer & other updates

Spencer is doing GREAT! They took out his chest tube and he is off oxygen now! Tina & Scott finally get to hold him and they are loving it! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. All of this has got me thinking about Kimmie's birth. She was 6 weeks early and we are so lucky she is so healthy. Thanks to the miracle of modern medicine she is doing great & you can't even tell she was a preemie. She just turned 11 months old, I can't believe my little girl is almost 1! She loves holding your hands and walking, before we know it she will be running around. I am getting pictures together from our trip so I will post them soon. Hope everyone is doing well!!!