Marissa is 5 months old!

Time is going by so fast! Marissa is already 5 months olds and we have submitted papers to the court to finalize her adoption! Wohoo! Anyway this month, she has started eating solid foods and can roll over from her front to her back! She loves to spit at everything and thinks it is really funny! She also thinks that Xander is hilarious! He can get her laughing so hard! We would have video but once we bring out any camera she usually stops what she is doing and stares at the camera. Anyway, her stats this month at the doctor were: weight 13 lbs 3 oz (50th %) and height 24 in (50th %).

We may have a thumbsucker on our hands! (mostly she chews on it)

But she also chews on everything she gets her hands on, so who knows?

Very serious! I laughed so hard at this picture because it reminded me of one of the jokes this season on Last Comic Standing. If any of you watch it, it was on the prop comedy episode and Ron G was making fun of baby/childhood pictures.

Wiggling on the floor and happy! I think she was smiling at Xander.

Are you seriously taking more pictures?

Very cute close-up!

See? I can sit up and smile for the camera once in a while!

And of course Xander! We can't get out the camera without taking a picture of him! He is seriously growing like a weed! I can't believe how big he is getting!

4th of July 2008

We started out the day with a neighborhood bike parade. The night we had a decorating party at my friend Kami's house, where we could all share supplies and ideas. Xander's mohawk bike helmet came from Family Fun magazine and was a huge hit! He liked it so much that he still has the mohawk on his helmet and it is almost August now!

Ready for the parade to begin!

Xander all decked out in patriotic gear!

















Mommy and Marissa watching the parade

















Eating popsicles after the parade

















Xander and friend Noah with matching mohawks!

















Marissa waving her flag (and about ready to put in her mouth)!

















BBQ #1: A bunch of my friends had an all day party on the 4th that we went to. I knew there was going to be water, so I told Xander to wear his swimsuit there but he refused and I just brought it with me. So what does he do? Within 10 seconds of getting there he was soaked from head to toe before I could even get his swimsuit out of the car! He spent the next 5 hours soaking anyone who got in his way-he even got paid by my friend's little sister to soak her when she walked out of the house. He took his job very seriously and did not let up until she was completely soaked! He only took two breaks from the water. The first one was to eat and he ate a plate full of food in about a minute so he wouldn't be missing out on anything. And the second break was for another bike parade (we brought his bike). They rode around the block behind the decorated van that was playing loud patriotic music. Xander's bike was definitely the most popular one!

Water fight!

















Bike parade #2

















After this we went back to our house and got ready to go our neighbor's house to do fireworks. They had a LOT of fireworks and we all brought desserts to share. Xander was running around with his friends and actually wasn't scared to hold sparklers this year like he was last year. Marissa just sat on my lap and watched for a little bit and then fell asleep! She didn't even flinch, even with all the firecrackers!

The next day we had another BBQ at another friend's house (my friends and Ash's friends he plays soccer with). They had a pool so Xander again scarfed down his food so he could get right back in the pool.

Marissa hanging out with daddy

















Xander swimming in the pool

Lucky Peak

Who says there isn't beaches in Idaho? Lucky Peak has a really fun beach and swimming area, complete with a fountain that sprays about 50 feet in the air. The water isn't that deep so there is a lot of area for the kids to go too. You can even fish there too! Anyway, we went there for a BBQ when some of Ash's friends from work and had a lot of fun! Marissa, of course, was the center of attention and loved playing in the grass!

Xander's 1st talk in primary

Xander gave his first talk in primary a couple of weeks ago. The topic was "The temple is a blessing for me and my family." So he talked about how Ash and I were married in the temple and because of that, when he was born he was already sealed to us. Then he said that we were really excited because in a couple of months we are going to be able to take Marissa to the temple and get her sealed to our family for eternity.

For some reason he talked really quietly during the whole talk so it was hard to hear him! I swear he is the loudest little boy in the world...EXCEPT when we want him to be loud! Oh well, he did a good job for his first talk. I was so proud of him.

Father's Day 2008

For Father's Day, Xander and I made this candy card for Ash. Xander was so excited to give it to him. He tried to hide it behind his back as we brought it downstairs and said we had a surprise for him. It was really cute! Anyway, we love Ash and he is a great dad!

Here are the ABC's of our great dad, Ash:
A -ATV of choice? I don't think he is really into ATV's unless it is on a video game.

B - Born? February 7th

C-Cookies or Candy? Cookies

D-Date of Choice when you go out? Dinner and an action movie

E-Essential Item? XBox

F-Favorite Foods? Sweet and sour chicken, Fajitas, Meat and potatoes, Country fried steak

G-Gas or Diesel vehicle? Gas

H-Hobbies? Soccer (he is on a team and he and Xander love to play in our backyard after he gets off work), XBox, gardening, fishing

I-Ice Cream Flavor? Mint chocolate chip

J-Job? Dentist

K-Kids? Xander and Marissa

L-Last Vacation as a couple? Way too long ago (before Xander was born)! But we are going to San Antonio for a dental conference in October without the kids and want to take a cruise or go to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary next March.

M-Morning person or night owl? Compared to me…definitely a morning person!

N-Number of Siblings? 3 sisters, 7 brothers

O-OCD or sloppy? OCD about weird things but totally sloppy with the things I am OCD about! :)

P-Pet Peeves? I chew ice, which totally bugs the crap out of him! Also, he doesn’t like dry feet, so he rarely has his socks off!

Q-Quiet or Loud? Depends on the situation

R-Restaurant? Chuckarama

S-Sports? Soccer, Basketball, Football

T-Tight wad or spender? Tight wad on most things, but spender on some things (mainly electronic).

U-Unknown Fact about him? Anything I could think of he probably wouldn't want you to know that's why it is unknown!

V-Vegetables? Pretty much anything, although I won’t allow him to eat raw broccoli!

W- Worst Habits? Chews fingernails, piles his clothes by the bed, and piles papers on our desk and kitchen table, drives me crazy!

X-Xtra Curricular activities in high school? Football, Baseball, Student Council. Plus he is really smart-he was valedictorian and got a ton of scholarships!

Y-Your favorite things about him? He is a good dad (pretty patient most of the time), helps around the house (cooks dinner, does laundry, helps with dishes, etc), gives good massages and best of all he loves me!

Z-Zodiac Sign? Aquarius

Win this quilt!

I love quilts! My mom has made me a couple and they are wonderful! And this quilt is so cute (see sidebar for picture), I couldn't help but want to enter this contest to win another one! You can enter the contest here