Two Years!!

On Tuesday Joe and I will celebrate two years of marriage! It's hard to believe. One of my two gifts/surprises [both of which were spoiled :)] was a slideshow compiling all of our pictures since day one. The song that you're hearing right now is the song the slideshow is set to, and believe me, I cry every time I watch it! The song is a very accurate description of how I feel after two years [with some obvious variation]. My other gift for Joe was the exact same ring that I bought for him when we were married [which was subsequently misplaced on a beach in FL]. I spent over $100 for it then and got it this time for $8 [Ebay: just one more thing I've learned from Joe in the time we've been married]. He was pretty thrilled. Joe's gift to me is a week getaway to Zions National Park, Bryce Canyon and Lake Powell! We leave this evening! It is going to be fun [if Norah cooperates :)]! It will be a lot of driving but I think Joe and I will compile a list of all the things we've learned since we've been married during the drive. Yeah, that's a good idea. Happy Anniversary Babe! It's been an amazing, fun, crazy and beautiful two years!

This is the picture taken on our very first date with the matchmaker himself, Arber. September 23, 2006, almost exactly two years before Norah was born (September 22, 2008)! To read the story that I wrote a year and a half ago about how we met, you can go here.

Engaged (thanks for the picture Will)

June 30, 2007

June 30, 2008

I'll have to take one on Tuesday and update this post :)

9 Months Old

It's been a while since I've posted an update about Norah and she sure has changed a lot since I have! She's been crawling for about a month now and she doesn't stop! She is constantly moving and exploring (just like her daddy), pulling herself up onto things and cruising across the couch. She weighs 16 lbs (15th percentile) and her length is the same as it was three months ago which brought her from the 96th percentile to the 33rd! It's amazing to think about how fast she grew during her first few months of life and then slowed down tremendously! That's OK though, we (and the Dr.) aren't worried about it.

I pretty much only nurse her in the morning and at night now. During the day she takes a bottle; half formula, half Lactaid whole milk and two teaspoons of Carnation Instant Breakfast (she loves the taste and we get more calories in her, it works out great). She is going through a phase where she will only eat if she's feeding herself. So, I put some pieces of carrots, peas, peaches or pears in front of her and somehow manage to get the baby food in her mouth in mid motion. She also loves to feed Owen from her high chair. Owen is thrilled about it - us, not so much.

She waves "hi" and "bye" every time she hears the words. This past Sunday while on Skype with Grandpa and Grandma Brown she even said "hi," twice! It was adorable of course. She said "hot" this morning while helping Joe make breakfast. She does "so big" when we say "soo big" and claps when we say "yayyy." She recognizes what a ball is, her blankie, trees, flowers, and of course Owen. It's incredible how fast she learns! She is really interacting with us more and more and it is so much fun. We love our little bug!

Sharing an apple with Daddy.

Since yesterday was Father's Day I do have to brag about my husband. He is the best father and Norah and I are so lucky to have him! Norah is such a Daddy's girl and it's amazing to see how much influence he has on her already. He has taught her everything she knows (seriously, I can't take the credit). Her face lights up and she claps her hands when he comes home from work. Then they just giggle for the rest of the night. I just melt when I watch them together. They are the loves of my life!

Doubling up in the stroller with her buddy Enoch.

Guess who Norah is laughing at :)

Family Pictures

About two weeks ago we had our family pictures taken by a local aspiring photographer looking to build her portfolio. She did such a great job! We love them. Well, Joe and Norah look amazing but I wasn't thinking and went straight from having a facial to the photo session (thus the crappy hair), but oh well! Here are a few of our favorites and if you want to see the rest you can click here.

My Childhood Favorite..

Hurry!

(that makes 3 posts for today)

Feeling Albino?

Click here, you won't be disappointed.

Rexburg

On Saturday at about 8:30 in the morning we decided to take a trip up to Rexburg, ID (a 4 hour drive from here) and return that evening. The main reason for going was to take care of some maintenance issues on our rental unit and getting to see a few old friends was the bonus! It has been almost exactly a year since we left Rexburg. I still remember so well driving away. It was bittersweet to visit again as we have so many memories there, but campus has changed and the once familiar faces are becoming few. A little tiny part of me wishes we were still there and then I come back to reality and am glad that we live closer to things like a mall, airport, a variety of restaurants, etc.

The highlight of our trip was visiting Margaret. When I met Joe, he had been visiting Margaret for several months faithfully every Sunday. As we dated and eventually got married, we continued to visit her. We hadn't kept in touch with her after leaving Rexburg (like we promised). I was a little hesitant to visit fearing that we would be disappointed because she wouldn't be there. But as we knocked on her door her eyes flew open, visibly excited to see us. Margaret is turning 96 this year and is still as spunky as ever. We love to listen to her wise advice and always leave with a smile. Norah was grateful for her candy bowl as she kept reaching in and pocketing some chocolate (too bad the closest thing she got to tasting them were the wrappers!) It was a great mini-trip.

Mini Meatloaves

Just wanted to share a quick and easy (and yummy) recipe! I made them tonight, they were delicious, and oh so cute. They travel so well, too. I'm freezing the leftovers and sending them to work with Joe tomorrow.

What you need...
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. Stuffing Mix
1 cup water
and mix & match your recipe from these options...

(In other words, pick one or two from each category, not all of them. I mean you could I guess... let me know how that turns out)

Seasoning options
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. garlic powder
Add-in choices
3/4 cup spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
Cheese possibilities
3/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
3/4 cup Shredded Mexican Style Cheese
3/4 cup Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese


What You Do..
PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and the seasoning until well blended. Press evenly into 12 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray; make an indentation in center of each with back of spoon.

SPOON add-ins evenly into indentations in meatloaves.

BAKE 30 min. or until meatloaves are cooked through (160°F). Top evenly with cheese; continue baking 3 min or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice, a vegetable and enjoy!!

Sportin' the Mohawk

I hadn't realized how much hair Norah actually has until she was crawling around with three other girls at Church who were older than her and BALD! I always thought my children would be bald for their first two years of life but this chicka has got some thick hair! It's growing so fast and starting to hang over her ears. I'm thinking about doing the 'hawk on a regular basis.

The Best Birthday

I don't get much of an opportunity to blog... but seeing that my name is on the address of this blog... I SHALL now blog like the best of them! This blog of all blogs...I will have you know is not about my firstborn; though she is the cutest beam of light in my life and I love how she crawls for a few then sits up to take a break, laughs at my jokes, grunts like grandpa Brown, and daily taste tests all her toys and...

I could go on and on but this blog is going to be a BLAG (blog+brag) about my amazing best friend and wifey. The scriptures are just for fun.

Gen. 2: 18, 20 "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."
Let me tell you a little story about how awesome my wife is. I woke up on Saturday to my wife's demands to get up because we were going to be late. I was very confused because this is not the usual order of waking in our house. To my surprise Lauren had the day planned and everything ready to go. In the car she handed me a blind fold and we three drove off to the unknown. I was thinking a hike to explore Mt. Timpanogos caves and Norah was probably thinking that we were going to Toys R US to taste test some toys but unbeknown to us Lauren had the whole day planned out. Our first stop was this little airport where I was shocked with excitement when she told me to take off the blindfold because I was going to fly a plane and have my first flight instruction. My reaction, "NO WAY! ARE YOU SERIOUS! HOW MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST?" To which she informed me that my awesome mum-in-law and Grandma Pat helped out.

Jer. 48: 40 "For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab."
The flight was AWESOME. The flight instructor asked me if i wanted to fly over the Great Salt Lake, the copper mines or over Sandy; not Moab... that's my next flight. To which I replied all sound great but I think I would rather do touch and goes (take off and landing). So I got to take off and land a bunch of times and it was easy! The instructor asked me if I had done it before. "Nope, just always wanted to fly." I don't consider myself a thrill seeker... anymore... and I wouldn't usually consider a Cessna Sky Hawk flight thrill seeking. JUST KIDDING IT WAS AWESOME!!! Thanks Love, Jill, and Grandma!


Alma 30: 44 "The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."
Just when I thought the day couldn't get better Love tells me to take off the blindfold when as we ascended up the beautifulness of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was here that Lauren gave me a gift that she didn't even know about when she admitted that the mountains in Utah were beautiful and green. The pictures above and below was from our second surprise. A hike up to donut falls. A perfect day for a hike and it was beautiful! (and so is my wife). Hiking is our family hobby. We love being out amongst God's creations. Norah loves hikes but got a little fussy; probably because we wouldn't let her taste any of the leaves or the pine needles along the path.

Last but not least I was blindfolded again and we went to Taste of Thai (to be read with broken english). But the sweet thing about this surprise is that as we walked up to the restaurant I noticed a familiar face sitting at the table. I was probably a little too loud as I ran into the restaurant to give him a big hug. I haven't seen Kevin Kite for 10 years. We talked all through the meal about the goofy things we did as teenagers and that brotha-from-another-motha slipped out before we pulled out the camera. We didn't take a picture at my brother Aaron's house were we finished off the day with a little dip in the pool. Ahhh that was nice. Thanks Aaron and Shannon. So now you see why that was the most amazing birthday celebration ever!.

Alma 26:8, 11, "I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Blessed be the name of our God; let us sing to his praise, yea, let us give thanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever."

I thank the Lord that you are my wife and best friend for eternity.
Love, thanks for the most amazing birthday ever!!!
You are the best mother and the bestest wifey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVER!

Today is my hubby's birthday so I thought it appropriate to say it so the whole world knows..

I love you babe! I'm glad that you were born. I am so grateful for you and all you do for our family. You are such a hard worker, an amazing husband, father and friend. Loves, kisses and bum pinches!!