5 months!

*This is the same little yellow dress that Penny wore in her 7-month pictures here. :)

Some things I want to remember about 5-month old Violet...

- Started eating rice cereal a couple weeks ago and she loves it. We give her a big bowl before bed every night and she gobbles it right up.

- Still sleeping really well which makes for a happy mama.

- Loves to grab her feet and suck her toes. So cute!

- Bears her weight really well when she stands.

- If you lay her on a blanket, she’ll scooch off it pretty quick by pushing with her feet. Its so funny to watch.

- Starting to sit up on her own. Especially if she has a big toy to hold on to, she’ll sit up for a good five minutes.
- Loves when you blow raspberries on her tummy. She just bursts into giggles.

- Getting SO wiggly! When you have her on your lap, she hardly ever sits still. I’m starting to bring a bucket of toys everywhere I go just to keep her entertained. 

- Loves her big sister. Every time Penny enters the room, Violet just lights up with a big smile. 

She is the squishiest, most lovable baby! She's almost always happy and loves to jibber-jabber and squeal at you. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives!

First Day of School!

*Showing off her kitty backpack.

Today was Penny's first day of her second year of preschool. She did pretty well. She's in the same classroom as last year, and the assistant teacher is the same, too, so she just walked in there like no big deal. We brought little cupcakes for her class since tomorrow's her birthday (she's turning FOUR - ack!) and she was excited to give them to her teacher. I think it's going to be a great year. Here's to preschool and learning new things! :)

Happy Birthday Paul!

Mr. Larsen turned 32 on September 4th and we had a little party to celebrate. Paul's parents watched the girls and the two of us went out to eat at an Indian restaurant. Afterwards we had some red velvet cake and ice cream, and opened some prezzies.



Penny helped blow out the candles.

And she thought the balloons were for her, so she had a grand time at dada's party.

New shoes for the 32-year old.

Violet is looking a little startled here, haha. And I don't know who could possibly be hiding behind those balloons...

Happy Birthday Paul! I love you!

Family Reunion in Fullerton, CA

*Giant post ahead...you've been warned.

We had such a fun week! We usually all stay in a cabin here in Utah for our family reunion, but this year we stayed at my folks' house in Fullerton, CA and they offered to take us to a bunch of things down there. Sadly, Jordan's family wasn't able to make it since they were moving to Texas that week. We missed you guys!

On the road again // Penny entertaining herself in the car

On the way down, we stopped in Vegas to see our cousin Erin and her family. It had been too long!

Me, Erin and Lana with our baby girls // All the kidlets: Violet, Elsa, Penny, Max, Ethan, Brooke and Kevin

The day we arrived we just relaxed at the house...

My dad with the grandkids // Penny on my dad's lap while he's on the ham radio
*I remember doing the exact same thing with my dad when I was little...some things never change. :)

On Sunday we took a walk after dinner to our favorite Acacia Park...

Love this pic of my mom and Penny // Elsa and my dad on the slide

On Monday us girls got pedicures (one of my FAVORITE things ever) and that night we went to Medieval Times! I don't know why I enjoy this place so much, it's so cheesy and fun.

The whole crew.

Thanks for the light toys, Grandma! Penny is still playing with hers.

 

King Max + Queen Penny. Huzzah!

 

Go red and yellow! // Waiting for the show to start

All the actors, I mean, knights lined up // Violet wasn't much impressed by the show

And the next day was the main event - Disneyland! I was a bit anxious about having to take two young kids to Disneyland for the first time, but it was actually really fun! Yes, it was hot and crowded, and sometimes the kids got whiny but we brought lots of snacks and water, re-applied sunscreen every hour and they were all right. We took turns staying off rides with Violet if she was asleep in her stroller, and my parents even watched the kids so us four adults could go on Tower of Terror since the line was so short. Penny was afraid of a few of the rides when they got "too scah-wee!" or "too darrrk!" but other than that I think she enjoyed her first Disneyland experience!

It was so busy and fun all day that I only took two pics. I know, what's wrong with me?? But it was nice to just enjoy it all, and not worry about documenting every little thing.

One pic in California Adventure...

And one pic in Disneyland. But these two are good enough, right?

The kids stayed until 6:00pm or so, and then we brought them home, fed them dinner, and we got to come back with Lana and Kris for a few more hours until the park closed at midnight. It was a fun little date all to ourselves! It felt just like when Lana and I had annual passes in high school and we'd go for a few hours after our homework was done. So fun!

The next day was beach day. Penny's doesn't really enjoy cold water or getting dirty, so she wasn't a big fan. She kind of got upset each time a wave came in, I mean, really, how rude of the ocean.

But she did enjoy sitting under an umbrella playing with toys and a bucket of water. We all find our niche, you know?

I just sat and took care of Violet and read magazines. That was my niche at the beach and I liked it.

On Thursday we got to meet up with our friend, Heather! It was fun to chat and catch up, and watch our kiddos play together.

Me and Heather // Max, Violet, Harvey, Elsa, Wendy
*Penny refused to come out of the toy room for the group picture, ha

Later that day, a quick snapshot of my high school // And lunch at my favorite Fullerton restaurant

For our last day we went to Irvine Regional Park, and there was a bunch of fun things to do there...

We rode a cute train around the park.

And took the toddlers on a pony ride, which they all LOVED. I thought Penny would be scared, but she was totally into it the whole time, waving each time she passed by us. It was so cute!

The petting zoo was next, Penny loved chasing the goats around and combing their fur.

Paul and Penny on a paddle boat to end the day.

And the next day we drove home. And that's it! You made it through the longest blog post ever!

Thanks mom and dad for such a fun week!

A Day Trip to Logan

So we just celebrated our 7 year anniversary on August 6th and that night Paul's parents watched the girls and we went to dinner and a movie. But we wanted to do a little day trip too, and what better place to go than where we met and spent our first few years of married life - good ol' Logan, Utah! We packed up the girls and drove down in the morning on the following Friday and had a grand time.

First stop was lunch at our favorite restaurant in Logan, a Thai place called Kaiman. We probably ate there twice a month or something and we were really poor as newly weds (ahem, still are) so that's saying something. Then our next obvious stop was Aggie Ice Cream, where I posed with the girls. (I'm looking a little rosy in the cheeks because it was a billion degrees outside.)


Next we headed to Utah State, where we met as English majors (Paul later changed to Public Relations). My favorite part of the day was just wandering around campus. They were getting ready for classes to start in a couple weeks so everything looked really pretty and well manicured. Below is a pic of the quad with Old Main in the background with the big A on top.

Strolling down the main hallway in the student center. Memories!

Sneaking a peek in the student bookstore, looking at the piles of books organized by class for the students.

Of course we had to take some pictures on the "A" where many, many amorous college students have climbed on top and kissed at midnight in order to become a "True Aggie." (Yes, I went with my roommates once on one of the full moon True Aggie nights. No, I never became a True Aggie because I was waaay too embarrassed.)

Posing with Mr. Lincoln. We're really funny.

Daddy and daughter walking outside the student center.

A quick stop at Old Farm Apartments where we lived while we were dating. I lived in the S building on the left, and Paul lived in the T building on the right. It was meant to be! Thanks Old Farm!

And the reason we chose that weekend to visit Logan - the Cache County Fair! We used to go every year and it was so fun. We walked around, got BBQ for dinner, and saw a lot of farm animals. Penny liked the cows.

Hey sheep. I'm really sorry you have plastic things punched through your ears. But you look like you're a nice sheep.

County fair food! So healthy!

Our seven-year anniversary self portrait // A quick shot of the valley as we drove home.

We were exhausted by the end of the day but it was so fun! It was nice to take a tour around Logan and reminisce. I'm sure we'll visit again someday, it's kind of a special place for us. Here's to more fun years ahead!

4 months!

  
Some things about 4-month old Violet...

- Weighs 15 lbs 4 oz (80th %), is 25 ½” long (80th %), and her head is 42cm around (75th %)
- Sleeps from 9pm to 6am, and then after a nursing, a few hours more. So nice!
 - Loves to suck on her little hands all.the.time.
- Discovered her feet a week ago and loves to grab and tug on them, especially when I’m changing her diaper.
- Holds her head up pretty well during tummy time.
- Can roll from her back to her side, but not all the way over onto her tummy yet.
- Smiling and babbling all the time. Has a pretty loud screech when she's bored or tired.
- Just started to reach for toys, and she automatically sticks them in her mouth.
- Ticklish under her armpits and on her belly.

This little girl is so fun! She is such a happy baby and doesn't fuss too much. I'm constantly mugging on her squishy cheeks and smelling her sweet baby smell, trying to savor every last moment before I blink and she's not a baby anymore. Penny is so good with her. She loves to come in with me in the morning to get Violet from her crib. She sticks her little arms through the bars and grabs Violet's hand and says "G'mornin' baby sister!" So cute. These 4 months have flown by and we're so happy to have baby girl in our lives!