S E V E N M O N T H S

 This month seven has gone by so extremely fast. You are constantly on the move crawling & pulling yourself up exploring every little thing you can get your hands on. (Specifically little leaves, bark, & dog food that you find on the floor. ha!) You babble and growl and have figured out if you scream at the top of your lungs you will usually get what you want.  You are loving food a lot more especially the little gerber puffs and rice crackers. Each day I feel like you learn something new, and it is so much fun to watch you learn and develop. You give me the wettest, slobbery kisses and it is my favorite thing in the world. Your little personality is starting to come out, and I just love you more than I can even describe. I am so grateful I get to be at home with you each day. I never knew if I would want to be a stay at home mom, thinking I would get bored and need something more. But let me tell you, it has been such a blessing and I can't imagine not being here with you everyday to take part in the ordinary in's and out's of each day, because they aren't ordinary at all, they are extraordinary.

 Little side note, when we were in Utah she had a little cyst on her head removed and that is why there is a patch of hair missing on the side of her head. haha I wanted to capture it, so it is always something we remember.

Our little snow girl & lake tahoe.

A few weeks ago we decided to venture out to Lake Tahoe and go exploring. It was a perfect day and it made me so excited to go back this summer! I'm so glad Kevin was able to convince me to get out of my warm pj's to go on an adventure in the snow. haha If you know me, I don't particularly love winter...but this little day trip was definitely one for the books.

Also, that little snowman hat...it kills me. So dang cute.

Christmas & New Years Eve

This year we were planning on staying in Sacramento for Christmas because Kevin was pretty positive he wouldn't be able to get work off. I was pretty darn sad but decided I would just make the best of it, and try to come up with some fun things we could do to make it special. 

The Monday before Christmas Kev made me open a present early. The present ended up being snow boots....and he surprised me by saying "you are going to need these for our White Christmas in Utah!" I couldn't believe it, I thought he was joking. haha We were both so excited to go Home and see our families. We have both been pretty home sick lately. 

So, Christmas Eve I picked up Kevin around Noon at work and we were off!! It didn't take long until we realized we were in for an adventure. 1/3 of the way through the Canyon between Sacramento and Reno it had started snowing, and soon after there were traffic signs everywhere saying you couldn't go through unless you had 4 wheel drive & snow tires or chains for your car. Luckily, we have 4 wheel drive and were able to keep going....but it was a bit scary! It took us about 15 hours to get home to Utah, when it normally takes 9 hours....it snowed the entire way and it was miserable! Ha. But we finally made it to Kev's Parents House at 4 AM and it was entirely worth it. 

The next 3 days we just hung out with both of our families and it was so much fun! Kev got to go snowboarding, we visited our old ward, and we also got to talk to my parents through Skype on Christmas, it was so nice to be home! Since moving away, we both have realized how much we love and miss Utah. It was so fun to have a snowy Christmas....Ellie loved it too. She was in Heaven playing in the snow.

Our lovely Christmas Eve Dinner at El Pollo Loco. We were lucky it was open, cause not much else was!

 We didn't do much for New Years Eve because Kev had work the next day....and we also don't know anyone. haha So, we had a fun night at home and made Steak Dinners and we I watched the Live 1989 Taylor Swift Concert. Both Kate and Kev were asleep before midnight....so it was a pretty exciting night. :)