Snuggies

I've decided to blog about something besides my family so I have chosen a "popular" topic to blog about; the Snuggies blanket. That is right, the oh so funny One Size Fits All, sleeved blanket for people or dogs that I am sure many of you have seen advertised on TV and in stores especially around Christmas time, but if you don't know what I am talking about just take a look at the pictures below which say it all. For Christmas this year my younger sister and husband had the idea to purchase the Snuggies blanket for both my mom and dad as a gag gift from the kids. The funniest part about it was the morning before Christmas the topic of the Snuggies blanket came up (I don't remember why) but my dad was totally making fun of it and threatened us if we ever bought one for him. That is when we knew that it was the perfect gift for him. Watching both of them open their Snuggies Christmas Day was hilarious; we made them put them on right then and there and I think a dance of some sort followed along with the wave; I think my brother-in-law videotaped it all. Although I think that the commercials are ridiculous and I can't see any normal person wearing their Snuggie out in public, I really enjoyed wearing one in the comfort of my parent's house. I think my sister and I wore the Snuggies more than my parents did during Christmas break. I'd have to say that they are fabulous to have on while napping, watching a movie or reading a book. You can have your hands free to do whatever and they are really warm and soft. I've teased my husband about buying one for him because he reads so much and gets cold and tries to wear a blanket but I think that it could threaten our marriage. Not really, but he did say he would NOT wear it. For all of you who have laughed at the commercials and think they are ridiculous, don't dog it until you try one in the comfort of your own home or somewhere where nobody else can see you. That is all I have to say about Snuggies...

My Baby Is All Grown Up

Emmalyn on her second day in this world; look at all that dark hair

Emmalyn as an adorable one-year old; quite the facial expression!

Like most mothers I can't believe that my baby is a year old already. This year has flown by so fast but we have had a wonderful year together. I am in awe every day as I watch her grow and develop into a little girl. She makes my heart swell when she looks at me and calls me mama, when she runs to me when she is scared or sad, when she gets so excited to see me when I've been away and lately when she gives me hugs and kisses without even asking. It is amazing how much love I have for her and how close we have become as a family. My life will never be the same because of her and for that I am truly grateful to my Heavenly Father.

Temple Square Lights

I love Christmas time. Last year one of the items on my "to do before the baby comes" list was to go to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It is quite the site and it gets me even more into the spirit of Christmas. Unfortunately, but fortunately, Emmalyn decided to come two weeks early and we were unable to see the lights. This year we made it downtown to see the lights. It was so much fun, we made it a double date night with my sister and went out to eat at the Blue Iguana, a lot like the Red Iguana, but not as good and then we walked around Temple Square very quickly because it was one of the coldest nights ever and our little girls were freezing!! Emmalyn loved the lights. She would point at them and then say, "Ohhhh". I wish we could have spent more time walking around but at least we made it there and were able to take a few pictures to capture the moment.

Playing Catch Up

I feel like such a slacker; I haven't posted anything since the beginning of December and so many moments have been captured since then. I am sorry that I am going to have to play catch up and post several right in a row. This first one goes all the way back to Thanksgiving. Originally we were going to stay put in UT for Thanksgiving but made a last minute decision to drive to AZ to see Joey's brother and family. It was fun to be with family for the holiday and to be in warm Phoenix, AZ. One of my favorite memories of the visit was playing football, the Thorpe's vs the other's. The Thorpe's won of course and I scored two of our seven touchdowns; I guess flag football paid off. Emmalyn loved meeting her cousins for the first time; Eliza and Chloe. I enjoyed watching her follow her big cousins around and playing with all of their fun toys. My favorite Emmalyn moment was when the three cousins were all dressed the same and played Ring Around the Rosies...check out the video below. So CUTE!!!

Great news all around...

Today was one of those days where good news just kept coming our way. Here is how our day went...
10:00 am: Drop daddy off at school
10:20-11:20 am: Emmalyn had a great one-year check up; can't believe she is almost a year old already
11:20 am: As we were leaving the Student Health Center I received a call from Joey telling me that CIGNA (health insurance company) just called and would be calling him back in ten minutes. Why is this significant? Well last weekend Joey flew to Connecticut, CIGNA's headquarters for the final interview process for a job after graduation
11:35 am: Joey calls me and with pure excitement tells me that he has been offered the job with CIGNA and we have a week to accept/decline it. This is fantastic news because this is a great opportunity for Joey and it will be another adventure for our family
2:00 pm: We have an appointment with the Orthotics and Prosthetics doctor and receive the great news that Emmalyn no longer needs to wear the helmet; what an amazing job it did. We are so grateful for medical advances and what it has done for our little girl (pictures will be posted later)
3:30 pm-rest of the evening: Joey and I are still in awe of the offer we received and call/text all of our family with the good news
It is days like today that I see just how much the Lord is involved in our lives and how blessed we are.

Never Never Land

I love Halloween and now that we have a little one to dress up I love it even more. We decided to go all out and dress up family "theme" style. I need to give props to Joey for going along with dressing up and making one incredible looking Captain Hook, but I think Emmalyn wins for being the cutest Tinkerbell ever. The best thing about her costume is I bought it 9 years ago for my niece Madison when I worked for Disney and now it has come full circle for my own daughter to wear. I love it!
The week of Halloween was full of fun parties with the MBA school, our ward, and our friends Steve and Laura. We have so much candy and treats in our home that we won't need to buy any for next year. Gross but true! We can't wait until next year to do it all over again.

Little Steps

This week I caught Emmalyn taking a few steps...her first steps occured while we were visiting Colorado for Fall break but this was the first time I actually had a camera in my hands. If you are wondering why Emmalyn is wearing a helmet it is to help reshape her head. One side of her head is slightly flater than the other and this will correct it. She looks so stinkin' cute in it and we have fun decorating it to go to church, BYU football games and for Halloween. The best part about the helmet is that it has protected her from multiple crash and burns.