stuff....

Oh let's see.... where to begin.... we decided it was time for James to have his first haircut since it was getting so long and wild....
James tends to be emotional and very expressive, and we weren't sure how he'd react in Aunt Brittney's chair at the salon for his first haircut, so we did it ourselves. It was traumatic for James to see his curls on the floor, and he screamed and cried and screamed and cried....


He recovered though, and he looks handsome with his new "big boy" haircut. Even though he is only 16 months old, I think he has hit that dramatic 2 year old stage. One day this week I put him down for a nap in the play pen. I was dozing on the couch, when I was beaned in the head by a book... and then a shaking Cookie Monster saying "Shakey shakey... wa hahaa!!" which was followed by a stuffed Ernie. When I stood up I saw that James had stripped down and taken his shirt off and was able to get his arms out, but couldn't figure out how to get it over his head so it was hanging around his neck. On top of that, he had pulled his pants and his diaper down, and when he saw me he grabbed a hold of my brand new curtains and yanked them and the curtain rod off the wall. When I took him out of the play pen he was so fast and found my soda and dumped it upside down on our nice cream colored carpet....and then threw up all over the floor.... It's hard to be frustrated for very long though because he is so cute! He has become very good at pouting.... But Daddy always brings the smile back. At the end of the day - James has played so hard and is so ready for bed he goes right to sleep with his favorite "friend".... here is a picture of a boy and his bear.

Thomas is 2 months old now, and when he isn't sleeping, he is smiling. Now that he has learned how, we just can't get him to stop - not like we want to or anything. :)

Thomas is so nice to cuddle! Exciting things are going on in our family. My sister Jessie and Mike are getting married. This is a picture of when they came to visit in New York when we lived there.
Here is her gorgeous ring. Way to go Mike! A stunning ring for a stunning girl!:

Jessie and Mike are also expecting their first baby together, due March 10th! Yay for babies! I know she'll be an excellent mother, as Mike has two daughters and she loves them so much, and they adore her. She is also so good with the nieces and nephews. And Mike is a very good father, so I know that they will have a happy home. Yay! I'm lucky to have such wonderful siblings!

Here they are on my wedding day (obviously). LtoR: Jessie, Carty (me, duh) and Kelli.
Today was Jeff's mom's 60th birthday, so we had a karaoke birthday party for her, since she loves to dance and sing karaoke. It was so fun! Here she is with her siblings, who all made it to honor her at her party. She is the one in the middle, in the purple top. It was such a fun party! After being married for nearly three years now, I had no idea that my husband liked to sing karaoke! It was a very fun party, and I hope that Mom had the best birthday ever!
Today is also our sister in law Brittney's brithday. We're so lucky to have Brittney in our family! Here is a picture of Chad singing to Brittney at the party:Happy birthday Brittney! Even though James was sick most of the week, he still found time to be social with cousins at the party. He loves to be social and play with other kids!
Today was our nephew Erik's baptism. It was a very nice program. Erik is a sweet and smart and good boy. It's fun getting to serve in Primary, and seeing Mike and Margo's kids there. We are very proud of Erik!

Happy days! :)

Parting cuteness: