My Brother the Ninja Rockstar

I am not aware of any fame my brother has received in regards to being a rockstar, and I'm not sure he has any real nunchuck skills, but he is still pretty cool. This is not a special birthday post or anything like that. Its just an ode to my big brother whom I happen to think the world of. He really is the best big brother. When we were little I remember him letting me tag along with him and his friends. I'm four years younger than he is and so that is kind of a big deal if you ask me. Other than pinning me down and dangling big loogie balls over my face (which more often than not ended up in my mouth), he has always been a very gentle and kind brother. I only have positive memories of him as a child and as an adult he continues to be genuine, honest, and kind-hearted. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know and that is no lie. As if all of this isn't enough, he is also one of the most talented people I know. If he is interested in something he is good at it. As a kid he liked art, and some of his work is still hanging in my mom's house. Amazing stuff for being like 13 when he did it. In high school he liked football and track and did very well at both. He likes music and so he taught himself the guitar and he also plays the harmonica. His two loves, however, are skiing and fishing, and pretty much he is awesome at both. He is loyal to his "hobbies". This loyalty is what has made him awesome at what he loves to do, but also it makes him an incredible friend/brother/son. All I would ever have to do is point to someone and tell him that they hurt me and he would possibly kill them with his bare hands. (Don't worry, you're safe. I really don't have any enemies.) That is just how he is. So kind hearted, yet fiercely loyal. He is the best brother anyone could ask for and I am so lucky that he is mine. So here's to you big brother. I love you.

I stole these from his Facebook. I don't know the people who took them (except for the last one), but I'm sure they won't mind me using them, right?

Milk Goatee

Dear "Got Milk?" campaign,

For your consideration, I present to you this:

The milk goatee.

one.

Just a year ago my baby girl looked like this.

She now is one year old (as of last Friday). This year has gone by so fast and I cannot imagine life without this darling in it. She brightens my day and I love her beyond description. Here is a run down of her big day.

Waking up a one year old!

I had to really ponder what to make for her "birthday dinner". Not because she doesn't have any favorites, but because everything seems to be her favorite. She loves food and has been known to grunt and point until you give her whatever it is that you are eating. She even grunts when we give Nell dog treats. I ended up deciding to make biscuits and eggs with orange slices. Delicious sounding I know, but she really loves biscuits.


Here is the birthday spread.


The cake. I decided to do an applesauce spice cake with a cream cheese frosting. Not a work of art by any means, (Like it would have been if we were still in Pennsylvania and the famous Deb Kreiger made the cake) but it was tasty!

She was really cute when we were singing to her. She just got this little smile on her face like, "are you singing for me??"




We didn't go crazy in terms a party. We invited our good friends the Walkers and then any family members that live in SLC. Marci, Seth, and Ellen were able to come and we loved having them here to share in her big day.






Happy Birthday baby girl! You sure are loved!


Here are some stats and facts about this one year old:
Weight: 20 lbs 15.5 oz- 50%tile
Length: 30 1/4 in.- 90%tile
Head: 45%tile

• She now has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom).
• She is finally sleeping all night long! Just like Mason, she didn't sleep all the way through the night (meaning like 7:30 pm to 8 am), until 11 1/2 months. She finally kicked the early early morning wake up and for that I am grateful.
• She is transitioning from two naps to one. She still takes an occasional morning nap, but mostly she goes down after lunch and sleeps for 1.5-3 hours. I like it better this way. It gives us the mornings to get out of the house.
  
• She is offically weaned from breastfeeding and drinks from a sippy cup.
  
• She started walking at the beginning of May. On May 10th she walked all the way across our living room and she has been at it ever since.

• She really loves to play with Mason. He calls her his "Sagie girl". Their favorite games include: Mason throws the ball and they both crawl to it as fast as they can to get to it, Mason runs around the couch and Sage chases him, climbing the stairs and singing songs.
• On her own she loves to put things inside of any container she can find. I often find little toys and trinkets inside our shoes, or inside tupperware in the cabinet.
• She loves to dance. She points at my ipod and grunts or else just starts dancing without any music. In church she dances and "sings" to all the hymns and even waves her arms around while she watches the conductor. If you just say the word "dance" to her she wiggles her bum.
  
• When she is crawling or walking really fast (usually in an effort to get something or somewhere) she breaths really quick and heavy. She usually has a big smile on her face and just acts like she is working so hard to accomplish her task. She has done that since she started crawling. Its how I know she is on the move when I can't see her.
  
• She has a cute little pout as pictured below.
  

• She still stiffens her arms and legs and rotates her wrists and ankles when she gets excited. She loves it when daddy comes home or when Mason wakes up (if she is up before him).
• She loves to be outside.
• She loves to go to the park and swing on the swings or play in the big tube. (She often does the above mentioned movement when she sees the park.)
• She still has a deep raspy little voice and the funniest laugh. Her fake laugh is super funny.
• She says "mama" "dada" and "nell nell".
  
• She scrunches up her nose when she laughs or smiles. I LOVE it.

She is such a happy girl and such a bright spot in our lives. Love you Sagie girl!

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl. One year went by so fast. Stop growing, ok?

(A more detailed post of Sage's first year to come after we celebrate tonight.)

Mason-isms

• After bath time, Mason comes into Sage's room while I'm getting her in her jammies. He has been having this conversation with Nic in the other room and wants to tell me about it.
  Mason (pointing to his nipples): "Mommy I have these on my body. So does Daddy and Sagie and Nell Nell. So does Mommy. Hers go boing boing and Mommy uses hers to feed Sagie milk. My (I) don't want to use mine to feed Sagie. Mine are just little. They don't feed Sagie." (Mine go "boing boing"? Should I have that checked out?)
• Mason was trying to ask me about a helicopter and if it was landing over our house or something like that. I wasn't entirely sure what he was saying and he was getting frustrated until he finally said, "Mommy! Tell me the truth!"
• Mason: "Mommy? You be dead and your eyes turn red and you snap books on frogs?" (What??? No idea where he got that from.)
• Sage: Babbling. Mason: "Sagie is saying 'I love you brother and you are awesome!'"
• We were at the Huntsman center having dinner with Nic and a nice elderly man, dragging around an oxygen tank, was talking to Mason about the impending storm outside. After their little conversation Masons says, "Excuse me. Is that (pointing to the oxygen tank) to spray people with?" The man just laughed and got on the elevator.
• The other day Mason was outside playing with some of the neighbor boys. As he as coming in the house I heard one of the boys yell, "I love you Mason" and without skipping a beat Mason called back, "I love you too Tavis!" Must have been a great play session.
• I was trying to reach something that was high up and Mason informed me, "Mommy, you'll never be big like Daddy. I eat lots of food and I'll be big like Daddy. You are just small."
  

• The other day we were going to the bank. When we pulled into the parking lot Mason asked, "Is this the bank?" "Yes." "Are there lots of piggies in there?"

• Mason kept pointing to his cheek saying, "Look mommy! I'm growing a horn like daddy!" "You mean a mole?" "Yeah. A mole. Like daddy!" Nic says that now he know what Mason really thinks of him.
• We use the doors on Mason's closet to display his art work. The other day I found Mason standing in front of it, hands on his hips, with a scrutinizing look on his face. I asked him what he thought of his work. He said, "Its. AWESOME!"
  

Easter weekend equals....

Farmington Easter Egg Hunt where Mason made a killing (after being coached by Nic as to how to get the most eggs. "Don't stop and look at the eggs Mason. Just keep putting them in your basket as quick as you can." I tried to add to be nice to those around you and don't push etc., to which Nic replied, "Yeah. But mostly just try to get a lot of eggs.")

Easter morning. Mason was so excited for the Easter bunny. I told him when the sun came up we could go find his basket and so sure enough, as soon as the sun peaked over the mountains he was in our room ready to go. So fun.

Sagie girl woke up a little later and enjoyed the celebration as well. This is her first Easter and also her last first holiday. sigh.

(Of course Mason loved Sage's present almost as much as his.)

Church in the new digs... (My mother-in-law bought Sage the cutest little Easter dress, but unfortunately it was too big and she was "crawling" out of it. My mom and I had bought this dress before Sage was even born for her to wear on her first birthday so we pulled it out and it worked great!)

Nic did a little photo shoot on our front steps while I was getting ready for church. I thought these pictures were so funny and so typical of my kids. Sage was doing her pterodactyl scream and flapping her arms laughing and Mason was mimicking her. Even my friend Camille who lives a street away could see Sage flapping her arms. So even though we didn't get the "perfect shot" I love seeing these pictures that so perfectly capture my kids personalities and their little quirks.

We really do love our daddy, despite his absense in this photo. We were in a rush so we just grabbed this picture instead of setting up the tripod to do the whole family.

Not pictured: We had a nice dinner at my aunt and uncles house and had a chance to catch up with my cousins. Awesome folks they are. We also had Chris, Marci, Seth and Ellen over for dinner on Sunday. It was nice to spend some time with them and Mason adores his cousins, so he was loving life.

On Saturday, while Sage napped, Mason and I went to the store to pick up some things for dinner. I had the chance to talk with him a little bit about the true meaning of Easter and it was so sweet to watch as he tried to understand the whole thing. After church on Sunday Mason kept saying, "Jesus came out of the tube and he's not going to die again!" Tube. Tomb. Close enough right? I'm grateful for this weekend where I was able spend time with those I love and celebrate something that is so important to me.

Finally...

...its warm enough for some of this action.

(By "this action" I don't mean eating wood chips at the park, but that is certainly a part of the package deal.)

(Note the lack of pictures of Mason. This kid is so happy to finally be outside that getting him to stop for long enough to snap a picture is near impossible.)