A monkey & a ladybug

I have called Marley my Monkey (amongst the many other nicknames we have for her) since she was a baby. Now, for whatever reason, she calls Grace a "ladybug", which is actually a cute nickname. Even with morning hair & PJ's, Marley begged to hold Grace. She will actually hold Grace for quite sometime before she gets bored & wants to move onto something else.

Nap Time

One day Marley got out her "snuggle" blanket & her "twin babies" & a blanket for them, & sat with them on the couch. She was sitting there so quietly that I didn't even realize that she had fallen asleep until I glanced at her. She must have been really tired, since, typically, Marley will not take a nap anywhere but in our bedroom or in the car (if we happen to be driving long enough). What a sweetheart!

Let's Read

Wonderful "Aunt" Eileen sent Grace a fantastic homemade quilt & was also kind enough to send Marley a book. Immediately after opening her present, Marley wanted to sit down & read the book!

Story Time

One day we had left the girls in our bedroom momentarily & when we came back, we found that Marley had picked up some books & was "reading" to Grace. Marley absolutely loves to read & adores books. I will often find her "reading" books to herself. She had most of her books at least partly memorized. It is cute to find her by herself reading out loud!

My Two Girls

I started taking pictures of Grace &, of course, Marley didn't want to be left out!

I love Grace's eyes. The "Katy Perry" look is what I like to call it!

My goofy gal

Marley was running around without pants on & just being cute with her phony smile, so I had to snap a few pictures of her! I love this little girl & her hilarious personality!

Marley & Grace

Even though there are moments of jealously, overall, Marley has taken on the role as Big Sister & loves Grace. She will frequently asked to hold Grace & will help me change her diaper & give Grace her binky! So fun to have two lovely little girls!

Cabin with Jerry & Ruth

For conference weekend, we were lucky enough to go Kevin's parent's cabin in Flaming Gorge with none other than Kevin's parents! The weather was LOVELY & we had a fantastic time relaxing & just hanging out!


Marley with her Grandma Ruth

Gun Slinger! Kevin thought he was so tough prancing around with his gun slung around his waist. Love the hat & the Fivefinger shoes!

Marley LOVES her Grandma Ruth & to cook (especially to crack eggs) so you can imagine her delight that she got to make breakfast with Ruth! Fortunately, there were no eggshells in our food!

Marley was playing with the "mama" & "daddy" and posed them like this...I guess they're supposed to be kissing!

Even though we've been to Flaming Gorge numerous times, I've never made this stop to look at this view. I think it is beautiful & wonder how many miles away the horizon is!

How sweet! Jerry napping with Grace.

Pictures of Grace

A photographer friend from high school, Amber, was kind enough to take some really cute pictures of Grace. My friend, Chantae, had given me the CUTEST outfit for Grace to wear & these pictures were perfect for it!! I love the pink ruffles & the headband is adorable!!! Then my mother-in-law, Ruth, gave Grace the cutest white onsie with white lace & pink ribbon! I'm sure I'd love a boy, but girls are SOOO much fun to dress up!!

Haunted Gingerbread House

Marley went to her Grandma Ruth's house for the day. It was nice to have time with just Grace, but I definitely missed her! She made the most adorable gingerbread house for Halloween! Then she wanted to make graham crackers for her & Grace!

Later, after she got home, Marley said "Dang it Mom! I'm so dumb! I forgot to get the pumpkins from Grandma's for me & my baby sister!"

Big Bad Wolf

One day Marley came into the living room after playing by herself in her bedroom. She told me she was scared & that she didn't like the "big bad wolf". I was unsure what she was talking about, so I went into her room with her. She had several books strewn about the room, one of them being a story about the 'Three Little Pigs'. She opened the book to the picture below (which turned out kind of blurry)...and that was what had scared her! She's so funny!!

Bathtime Marley

Since we had the camera out for Grace, Marley had to be apart of the picture taking as well. Of course, she's giving her cheesiest smile. I don't know if Marley has any other kind of smile! But we love her anyway!

Grace's First Bath

Miss Grace got her first bath a few days ago in which she cried for about two seconds before she relaxed & truly enjoyed it. This lovely little girl is such a great joy! We love her dearly!!

Happy Birthday My Dear Kevin

My wonderful husband & fantastic father, Kevin, turned the big Three Three this year! His wonderful mother, Ruth, brought the balloons & the most delicious chocolate-peanut butter cake to celebrate. We had a delightful dinner at the Bombay house & a quite, but lovely evening at home just enjoying each other's company! Happy Birthday Kevin!!!

Jewelry in the Buff

Marley loves to play in my jewelry box. She is constantly trying to get into it & play with everything in it. She was supposed to be getting in the bath, but managed to sneak over to my jewelry box to get in one last bit of play before going to bed!

Arm Sling

Due to the out-dated code standards of a home built over 40 years ago, the last bottom three stairs to our basement has no railing on one side. Marley was climbing down the stairs & while on the third stair from the bottom, she turned funny, and, of course, fell off the side that had no railing. Her left arm took the brunt of the fall. She would not stop crying & I thought she might possibly need a nap. So I laid her down in my bed for a nap with me. Even though she stopped crying, she kept favoring her left arm. She knew that Aunt Tina & Uncle Jono were coming up for a visit, but wouldn't get out of bed when they arrived. Which is odd behavior for her since she adores Tina.

I decided to take Marley to the urgent care so they could take a look at her arm. Fortunately, Jono & Tina were able to go & help me with Marley & Grace (thanks guys!) Happily, we were seen in a timely manner. As the physician examined her arm, he concluded that it was her elbow that was causing her pain. I'm so proud of Marley because even though it was painful & scary for her, she allowed the rad tech to take x-rays of her arm!! Even though they were not able to see an obvious break (as some breaks cannot be detected), there was a possibility of a radial-head fracture on her left elbow. There was not much to do but put her arm in a sling & give her Tylenol/Motrin & have her take it easy. The next day, I received a call from the urgent care after the radiologist had looked at the x-rays as well, and there was no visible break, but lots of fluid around the joint & to follow-up with her pediatrician in one week.

I'm glad to say that the follow-up with her doctor a week later was normal. She is now able to use it normally!

It's so sad that they have to make slings this small!!

Goofing Around

Kevin took some fun photos of Marley...her hair was in absolute disarray but I thought the pictures were so cute! Plus she wanted to show off her "bunny money". One of her books is about "bunny money" & had a page of "money" to photocopy so she could have her own "bunny money". She seemed to think that the "bunny money" was pretty darn neat.

Talkin' with Tina

Marley often uses her play phones to call & "talk" to her Aunt Tina. Well this time, pretending to talk just wasn't enough! She wanted to actually give Tina a ring-a-ding-ding so she could really talk to her. And talk is what Marley did...she had a 10 minute conversation with Tina about whatever was going on in that little mind of hers at the time. She would have kept talking with Tina but we figured we'd give Tina a break & end the phone call since Marley would've kept chatting away! I love this little kid!

Children's Museum

We finally made it to the Children's Museum! Marley & Mack had a wonderful time as there are so many activities there for children their age to enjoy...far better than the "scary museum"! In fact, they had so much fun, it was like pulling teeth to get them to leave without making a big fuss! We'll have to buy a membership so we can go more often!

The Scary Museum

Marley & I took a trip to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum with Maren & Mack, but, to our dismay, it was closed for the day! Since were were already at the Gateway mall, we decided to wander over to the Clark Planetarium. Although Marley & Mack played around on the moon & Mars rock areas, there wasn't a lot for younger kids to do, so we didn't stay long. Later, Marley told me that she did NOT want to go back to the Clark Planetarium because it was the "scary museum"!