let it snow

Well we took a little winter trip to Utah to visit with family, and got quite the winter wonderland! Some days we were snowed in and just stayed inside, which I always like, other than that we had family dinners, my niece Sydney's dance recital, a date night, some shade shopping, and of course got some projects done! Brody loved having some big kids to run around with, and I really think he's gotten faster since our trip(apparently it was possible)! Thanks to the Jessop's for the accommodations, I promise one day you'll actually be able to stay with us!

Brody and his new buddy Ryder are just watching their dad's plow snow outside.

Brody and his cousins play follow the leader.

Sydney the dancing queen right after her recital.

A little night on the town, the boys did the planning and told the girls to "just show up and look pretty."

temple lights

At the beginning of the month we joined with some friends and went up to the LA temple to enjoy the lights. I'm always so amazed at how precise and carefully everything is decorated! My favorite decorations are the palm trees in lights, but that's mostly cause I know it's a warm weather thing! Here's some pics of our night, including a suspicious picture of Brody before he tried to climb over some of the light ropes!

Me and my buddy.

Almost caught in the act!

Justin's fancy photo work.

little surprise, big excitement

Well word can travel fast so I thought I'd inform you all first. Brody's going to be a big brother! We've know for a little while and went in for our first appointment a couple weeks ago. Our hospital does a first appointment ultrasound to accurately measure the baby and give you a due date. Well I couldn't see the monitor, but Justin could. I was a little worried because he looked really concerned. The doctor then explained that she needed to get a really good shot since there's two babies!! That's right, we're having twins! We're definitely surprised since twins don't run in either one of our families! We learned they're fraternal, so they won't be identical (that's good, I'll be able to tell them apart), and now there's an opportunity for a boy and girl combination (Justin's hopeful!). The ultrasound was absolutely amazing and completely took our breath away, watching two little ones move around was just phenomenal. We're nearing the end our the first trimester so we're sharing the news a bit early, but I already have a bigger belly, which can no longer be blamed on thanksgiving! We're due in mid-June, but twins tend to come early so we don't really know when to expect them. The shock has worn off and we're so excited to meet two more personalities that will be part of our growing family. Luckily things have been going well and I've felt fairly normal, but every now and then I get a little winded and need a couple minutes to re boost. Other than that we've been really blessed to have things go so smoothly. Here's the first picture of our two little ones (we'll hopefully find their sex's out later next month):

he's trouble

We moved to our current place a year ago and tried to make the place as kid friendly as possible when we set up house. Yeah right. Brody can already climb up to grab the items I placed out of reach, and he has no problem working child locks on our drawers and cabinets in the kitchen (ok maybe my fault as I bought ghetto locks since they were cheap). Brody can definitely be trouble, especially as he channels his evil twin in the mirror (hopefully a video to follow soon), but lately I can hardly look at him without swelling up in pride and love, he's so sweet and I'm so glad that little stinker is ours!

eat up

Right before Brody turned one he got super picky about anything we'd serve him to eat. Mostly he'd refuse, except for a few staples. Lately he's been coming around and trying new foods, it's been quite a relief! The funny thing is, once he enjoys the food, he'll eat a ton! He's a huge fan of bananas, and pronounces it pretty cute, which we normally serve in three large chunks for him to munch on. Well, as he loves to out do himself, he shoved all three chunks, or the whole banana in his mouth at once! He slowly worked it, and after a minute or two, he actually was able to swallow the whole thing. What a champ!

success!

Last Halloween was quite an eye-opener. I bought a costume for Brody to wear, but come Halloween night he threw a huge tantrum and would not wear it. We luckily had a little basketball outfit that we used for his costume instead, and he loved it! This year I made him a mummy costume (which I felt suited him since he still walks a little crooked) but the night of our ward trunk-or-treat we had an all out battle trying to get it on him, and resorted to letting him wear a little soccer outfit we have. I was so bummed! All my hard work, for nothing! Justin made a few adjustments to the costume and on Halloween night Brody actually wore his mummy costume, I was so proud! Brody went trick-or-treating at both grandparents houses and over to his great-grandparents house. A couple hours and lots of kit kats later, he was all partied out! It was definitely a happy Halloween!

Our little mummy. Mummy and mommy.

Enjoying the new stash!

pumpkin patch

We've been wanting to take Brody to a pumpkin patch, so when the Rueckerts called to visit Pa's Pumpkin Patch in Long Beach we were super excited to go! After quite a bit of traffic we finally made it! There was tons of pumpkins and lots of carnival type games to play, and Brody loved it all, we could hardly contain him! Here's some pics of our night:

Justin took Brody into the petting zoo, and he LOVED it! He went running from animal to animal, wanting to pet them all! He had such a blast! I obviously stayed out and waited till I could lather him up with hand sanitizer!

Justin testing his strength! Luisa and I took the boys on the little train.

Brody climbed all over the big pumpkins despite the sign telling kids otherwise (hey he can't read yet). Another little family pic.

The night was super fun, and we loved watching Brody get so excited for everything! Once we started driving home, he crashed and slept late the next morning! Talk about a way to kick off the weekend!