...grady update...

i know some of you have asked me how my little nephew grady is doing. i'm so glad to say that he is strong, healthy, & cute as ever. he weighs over 11 pounds now & couldn't be loved any more than he is.

here are a few pictures i took of him a little over a month ago...i don't think there could be anything sweeter...

...christmas party 2008...

saturday was our annual christmas party with my friends from high school. as always, it was great to see everyone that came...and we missed those that weren't there! thanks to tom & melissa for letting us use their beautiful home...to kristen for bringing the waffle toppings, heather for her yummy breakfast casserole, and to everyone for bringing cookies...they were all delicious!

...simply simple...

zac came home from preschool the other day wearing this...i thought it was pretty cute & super easy to make...so i thought i'd pass the idea along!!

and then we had some friends over last week & made some of these little trees out of sugar cones. another fun & simple activity for christmas...i love the idea of S I M P L E projects during this crazy holiday season!!

...christmas moments...

even though this is really emerson's second christmas, it's more like her first...seeing as how last christmas she was only seven months old. it's been so fun to see her excitement and curiosity about everything that comes along with the holiday season. she loved decorating the tree...and thanks to zac's idea, loves to dance around the christmas tree while we sing christmas songs each night before bed. it's so fun, and it's moments like those that make me wish christmas could last all year long...

...cowboyin' it up...

our little cowboy...thanks to uncle trent & aunt pam!!

...zac's jungle saFOURi...

zac's birthday turned out to be a lot of fun. we invited seven of his little friends to join us for the fun, and that was the perfect amount...they all got a long great and seemed to have a fun time...so that was good! but in all seriousness, i think i actually had more fun planning the whole thing!

here's what our little guests were greeted with when they entered. they had to check in and receive an official passport to field jungle as well as some jungle money...

you may wonder why our little store is called "island medic"...well i was going to have mylaria pills (some mike & ike's) and a pretend little typhoid shot...but i didn't get around to it...and i had already made the signs...so it might not have made sense, but oh well. at the store, they bought themselves a saFOURi hat, bengal binoculars, jungle juice, and monkey munchies...

grandma debbie was so thoughtful and ordered zac a cookie bouquet for his big day...he loved them so much & still hasn't been willing to share an entire cookie...the stinker! we do get bits and pieces here and there, but for whatever reason...he's being really posessive of them...funny kid!

glad to see that emerson decided to make a mess of herself at zac's birthday party...seeing as how she would have nothing to do with her own cake.

i attempted to turn the basement into a little jungle...and we sent the kids down to search for bugs. here's zac redeeming his bug for one of his favorite prizes...he loves these little things. they turn into animals when you soak them in water...pretty fun...

the kids each made one of these...i love oriental trading for things like this! they have such great deals there...i think i got 12 little kits for $4.95...what a steal!

we got zac a "scooter-rider"...where he came up with that name, i'm not sure...but emerson has been loving it just as much. needless to say, i've spent a good share of time breaking up tug-of-wars between the two of them the last couple of days. always so fun!

and now we're off to boise for thanksgiving! so...happy eating!! :)

...finally...

some may be wondering what i've been up to that has kept me away from the blogging world for so long. let's just say i've been plenty busy...and haven't felt like taking the time to upload pictures. so now i'm back...and here's one project i'd like to tackle before the end of next week...thanks to my good friend for giving me the idea...which she got off of ali edwards' blog, who got the idea from martha...(surprise, surprise!) anyway...it's an advent calendar...i bought the boxes from my local craft store...and then bought some christmas paper, paint, and number stickers. then instead of tacking them straight onto the wall like others have done, i found an old cork board that i'm going to try and salvage into something cute...we'll see how it turns out. hopefully it does...i'll keep you posted.

(photo courtesy ali edwards)

then of course we have zac's 4th birthday coming up! so fun...but it's keeping us busy around here! seeing as how zac thinks animals are pretty cool, we decided on a jungle sa"four"i party. it should be fun. it's zac's first "friend" party...so he's excited about it. hopefully we can pull it off...we'll see how it goes! :)

...beware...

we've got lots of catching up to do in the world of blogging...so there's a lot of pictures!! here's part of what we've been up to the last couple of weeks in anticipation of halloween...

zac & his little friend finn were mesmerized by this little house of my parents'. the magic of being a little kid...it's so real & makes everything more exciting!

miss brooke decorating her pumpkin in a most BOOtiful fashion!


zac working so intently on his pumpkin. this boy loves things like this...

our halloween house (our 2nd attempt, i must add). fyi: if you're going to make a gingerbread house in the future...take my advice & never buy the "wilton" brand kit. they look cute because the roof is all jagged and such...BUT they don't come with anything to support the walls of the house on, so they collapse...for me at least. i found this gingerbread kit at albertson's...it's our second year using it & has worked both times...disaster free! :)

zac & grace getting ready to eat their "yummy mummies" for lunch...funny how food seems to always taste better to kids when it's made out to look like something other than just food...

an unexpectedly very cold trip to the pumpkin patch...but we still had a good time! okay, so emerson loves this pink jacket & its' hood. this day at the maze, it was freezing and the wind was blowing, so it worked out great. but on other days like today when the sun is shining and it's actually warm outside and she still insists on wearing her jacket and hood everywhere...i cringe. but then i get over it...because really, it doesn't matter... ;)

we went to the pumpkin patch with zac's preschool class & his teacher wanted a picture of all the kids wearing these straw hats...zac did not think that was cool. here he is trying his best to be polite and cooperate...he's a pretty good faker i must say!

so glad that we found dad's jacket in the trunk...it was a the perfect warmer upper for emmy while zac searched for pumpkins...

she got a kick out these small pumpkins. there must have been more of that childhood magic going on...

nothing like a good oreo cookie to warm up your insides....not really. hot chocolate would've been much better...

...busy bodies...

emerson has decided that she wants to be extra clingy. i really can't get anything done without her hanging on my leg or being held in my arms. i've resulted to putting her in her highchair in front of the tv while i try and be somewhat productive for the time that she is entertained with sesame street or backyardigans. she's at that age where she leaves her mark wherever she goes, like you can see here...

or here...

and she literally loves getting on top of and into everything she possibly can...this cupboard is perfect for her to play in though...why? because it's empty. :)

but i love her...and i wouldn't trade her for anything. it's just a busy, busy stage that's all....:)

now zac...he is getting to that age where he LOVES to help. he loves to feel like he's all "growed up" as he would say. the other night i was pretty tired after dinner. zac insisted on cleaning up it up and doing the dishes by HIMSELF. i kept on saying, "zac, are you sure? because i can help and it will go lots faster." he turned me down every time...and obviously was so proud of himself when it was all said & done...which was about an hour later. now hopefully this isn't a phase...