I had everyone who attended the party bring an old button to put on a picture frame that I had put "cute as a button" in vinyl lettering. I hope this will be a fun keepsake for her to have.


Piper really enjoyed her cake. She had a hard time diving into it at first but as you can see she figured it all out!

I can not believe that my little baby is one. Time has FLOWN by yet I don't remember life in our house without her. Piper is full of fun, I don't post often and for those of you that I don't talk to or see often I will give you a quick update Piper. I would guess that Piper weighs around 22 lbs. (much lighter than tripp was at this age!!). The week of her birthday she FINALLY started walking around furniture and grew the two largest front teeth I have ever seen! She is starting to show a little personality and can be a little feisty at times. When she gets really upset she throws herself backwards and screams at the top of her lungs, luckily this only lasts for about 10 seconds and it is not very often. Piper absolutely adores her big brother and thankfully he adores her just as much. She is still a really easy going girl; sleeps well, eats well, and goes with the flow. I would say my only frustration is that she will not take a sippy cup. I have visions of a 3 year old that I am still packing around because she refuses to walk and you guessed it.....she is holding a bottle!

Piper loved Santa! He didn't love that she was pulling his whiskers off! Look close at Santa's face, Piper is definitely getting the better of him!



I LOVED seeing Tripp with Santa this year! In this picture he is saying, "look mom, it's Santa!, Talk to him, talk to him!" It was so stinkin cute!

Here are a grundle of posts all wrapped into one! I had great intentions about posting about each of these events. Instead of throwing them all out the window I have just grouped them all together.

These pictures were taken while decorating our house for Christmas. They were both such great sports!

Tripp and I (Ryan once again proved what an amazing husband and father he is by staying home with our sick little Piper) went to the Polar Express. He loved it! As long as Tripp doesn't change his story from now until Christmas I think Ryan and I will be safe. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas Tripp told him "a present"!

He couldn't get enough of the first snow! He cried and cried when I made him come in. Mean Mommy!

Yes...... You are seeing this correctly!!! What better gear for playing in the snow than a cap, racing shirt, pj bottoms, light-up cowboy boots, gloves, jacket, and of course...a sand shovel and Tupperware!

Don't worry, they are not posing for me. They are watching TV. Duh Ryan!

I love the picture of Piper sucking her thumb. Although I don't like it, it is REALLY cute! She always sucks her left thumb but supports her left hand with her right. Piper is Grandpa Al's last hope for a lefty!

These pictures were taken exactly one week prior to the snow pictures. Tripp loved the leaves just as much as the snow. GG (great grandma) stopped by to see the kids. I don't know how many kids are lucky enough to have a GG like ours. She doesn't hesitate to get down on the floor and play with the kids, they all LOVE her!

This is the most recent "family pic" we have. This was taken at the pumpkin patch in October.

During Thanksgiving Break I had lot of time to think about all of the things that I am thankful for. We had taken Piper to Primary Children's for her echo and EKG. They found that her valve had gotten a little thicker but was still in the very mild range. They reiterated that if it continues to get worse, a stint will take care of it. Both Tripp and Piper were sick over the break which was no fun for them and not a whole lot of fun for Ryan or I either. These are such minor things when I look at the whole picture. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with two healthy, easy going, fun, loving, smart and super cute children! I have an incredible husband. I am really terrible at consistently showing him how much he means to me. I get so wrapped up in school, tripp and piper that he is often neglected. I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father to my children. I love everything about him. In my eyes he a kind, brave, hard working, determined man. I love you Ryan!

Hey everyone,


Ryan is trying really hard to get his videography business up and running. Since he is such a perfectionist in this area (I wish sometimes it were in other areas, like picking up his belongings) he does a fantastic job. He has just started a blog to help him in advertising and I am wondering if you would all be willing to post the link to his blog on your blog list. I know that lots of people surf blogs and thought that this may help him to get the word out there. His blog is tripp777.blogspot.com.


THANKS!