The Searle Family

Chloe's Birthday Questionnaire

2012-01-31T22:03:00.002-07:00

A friend of mine asks her children a set of questions on their birthday every year and I thought it would be a fun tradition to start. I think it will be fun to see how the answers change over the years. Anyways, I meant to put it in with my last post, but I forgot. Here is Chloe's Questionnaire

How old are you? 4

What is your favorite color? Orange

What is your favorite food? Oranges, apples and cookies

What is your favorite movie? Barbie movies

What is your favorite TV show? Arthur and Curious George

What is your favorite activity? Coloring

Who is your best friend? Bentley

If you had $100 what would you buy? Toys

If you could go anywhere where would you go? To the mall to get candy

How are you like mommy? Our hair (I wish)

How are you like daddy? We both like jeans and shorts =)

When you grow up what do you want to be? A mom and have 3 kids

Chloe Turns Four

2012-01-30T22:50:00.006-07:00

Last Monday, Chloe turned four years old! I still can't believe it, but at the same time she acts older than she is.
Chloe had her first 'friend' birthday party this year and overall, I would call it a success. When I asked her what theme she wanted for her party, I figured she would want a Barbie or Princess party but she told me she wanted an ice cream party. So, we played "pin the cherry on the ice cream cone", we threw bean bags though the ice cream scoops, and played "freeze" dance. The party only lasted an hour, but it was just enough for us. Chloe had a great time with all her friends and got some really fun presents from them.

Later that night, we took Chloe out to dinner and then had Chloe's grandparents over for cake and ice cream. We made Chloe wait to open her presents from us until that night. Chloe got a princess sleeping bag and sat in it the rest of the night. She also got some doll clothes from Grandma Diane and a beautiful dress from Grandma Barbara Ann. On a side note, Grandpa Ron took Chloe out to lunch and a 3-D movie for her birthday as well.

A Little Rain

2012-01-21T13:01:00.004-07:00

It's January in Utah, 40 degrees and this is the most precipitation we've had in a long time. If only this were snow!

But Aaron and Chloe had a little fun nonetheless. There's a Jeep (with Aaron and Chloe inside) in there somewhere...

Abby's One Year Stats

2012-01-11T11:09:00.002-07:00

We had Abby's one year doctor check-up last week and here are her stats:

Weight: 17.2lbs 2.4%tile

Length: 28 in 15.9%tile

Head Circumference 18.25in 82.8%tile

Teeth: 2

Words: Mama, Dada, More

Walking: yes

Here is a video of Abby with some of her first steps. She cruses all over now.

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

2012-01-03T12:24:00.003-07:00

After barely missing the cut off to go to Sunbeams last year, Chloe finally is old enough to be a Sunbeam! She was so excited and even remembered to bring her scriptures to church. She had a great time and told me about all the new friends she made. What a big girl!!! I had to take pictures of her on her big day, but I couldn't decide which one I liked the best, so you get to see a couple of them.

Abby Turns One!

2011-12-31T08:21:00.007-07:00

I can't believe that Abby is already one! Just two short days after Christmas, we get to celebrate Abby's birthday. We had a party with our families at my mom's house and had a nice time. Since she is only one, I didn't play any games or anything like that - we just opened presents and had cake and ice cream. Abby got a little overwhelmed with all the gifts, especially since Chloe was putting a new one in front of her every two seconds, but she got some really fun toys and Grandma Diane made her a stuffed giraffe from the fabric from her nursery (sooo cute).

Abby in her new chair

Abby's new favorite toy from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Barbara

Our little family

Opening presents

When it was time for the cake, we stripped Abby down, put a bib on her and let her go to town. She was a little timid at first but came around in the end. She liked the frosting the most- go figure.

Her Cake

Yum Yum

Abby has been such a fun baby and has given us a run for our money. She loves to go from super happy to super grumpy in a matter of two seconds. She has gotten better at letting other people hold her, but still prefers mommy. She has also almost started walking; she can take anywhere from two to seven steps without falling (I'll get a video and post it soon). Chloe loves her so much and especially loves to make her laugh.

The Birthday Girl

Christmas

2011-12-29T23:01:00.016-07:00

This was our first Christmas morning as a married couple at our house. Yep, in almost eight years of marriage we've never had Christmas morning at home. We were also super excited because this was the first year that Chloe really got the whole "Santa" thing and we couldn't wait to see her face Christmas morning. It was priceless! We also invited the Aaron's mom and dad over to our house that morning for presents and breakfast with us.

Chloe got everything that she asked for from Santa (a train set, a Barbie couch and the Curious George movie) and tons of other fun toys. Abby took a while to warm up to opening up the presents, but after a while she got it and started tearing into them. They both loved opening up their stockings as well - especially when they found the candy...go figure! Among other things, I surprised Aaron with a fire pit for our back porch and he surprised me a full length mirror so now I can finally see what I look like without having to stand on the bed. =)

After the presents were opened and breakfast was finished, we all got ready and went to church. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than to go to church. We had a beautiful sacrament meeting filled with hymns and scriptures about the birth of Christ and I truly felt the spirit.

Then to top off the day, we went over to the Searle's to spend time with the rest of our family. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts! Here are some pictures of the girls that I took a few weeks before Christmas as well.

Lights at Temple Square

2011-12-29T23:01:00.011-07:00

Aaron's sister Paula and her family came into town a few days before Christmas and one thing they wanted to do was go see the lights at Temple Square. So, we all bundled up and got to see the lights. Even though it was freezing, we loved it. Temple Square has such a special feeling and it really helped bring in the Christmas season. Of course, my camera battery was dead so I only got a few shots, but oh well!

The Searles, Friedbaums, Cummings and McKinlays

Aaron and the girls (who do you think is warmer?)

The Salt Lake Temple

Aaron's Big Day

2011-12-29T23:01:00.010-07:00

On the 20th of December, Aaron celebrated his 30th birthday! Of course, he didn't want a big party (or a little one at that). So after work, we went out to dinner with the Cummings family and then headed home. I had got some tickets to the BYU basketball game for us that night as well, but by the time he was done with work, he was feeling tired, so we ended up not going.

His parents had us over for his birthday the previous Sunday and we had cake and ice cream that night to celebrate. I got Aaron a new CB for the Jeep, but he opened it early and installed it so we could use it on our jeep ride a few days before his birthday.

Happy birthday, honey!!! I love you, even if you are an old man now. =)

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T22:55:00.005-07:00

Since it was our turn to spend Christmas with the Searles, we went over to my parents house for Christmas Eve. We decided it would be more fun to open our presents there so my parents could see everyone's reactions to their gifts. I got surprised this year when my mom bought me a super cute gray coat. I totally love it. Chloe got a fun stencil set that she loves and a new boy barbie with some outfits for him. Abby also got a coat and a new Little People car. Aaron got a speaker for his new CB and a movie. It was a wonderful evening and we all had nice time relaxing.

Mommy and Abby

Chloe and Grandma

Aaron

Chloe and her new boy barbie

Chloe, Kadence and Kaylee

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-29T22:48:00.008-07:00

It has long since been a tradition that we spend the 23rd of December with my Dad and have our family Christmas with him on that day. We always have a great time and look forward to our favorite traditional gifts from dad: a rock, super glue, pencils and a candle. This year, he surprised us all with a cute puffy vest. Chloe loved opening all her presents and every time Dad would ask if there was anyone named Chloe there, she would giggle and get super excited (that doesn't adequately describe it, but oh well). Abby was indifferent to it all, but she did like playing with the wrapping paper.

Abby

Me, Amber and Tawna

Dad and Kelly

Aaron

Amber and Casey

Grandpa and Chloe

In Search of a Trail

2011-12-29T22:44:00.006-07:00

A few weeks back, Aaron wanted to take the Jeep out on a trail in the mountains. He thought it would be fun to see how this new Jeep handles the snow, and also just go out on a nice drive. So, we called up the Cummings and the Searles and invited them to come along with us. After getting to our designated spot, we quickly realized the road that we wanted to go on was closed. We ended up going up another canyon and finally found some snow! It wasn't a lot, but enough for the kids to get out and play in and for Aaron to feel like he drove in snow.

Daddy and Chloe

Chloe, Ashley and Owen

Abby

The group

Visit With Santa

2011-12-12T22:38:00.003-07:00

We took Chloe and Abby to sit on Santa's lap tonight. Chloe has been anxiously awaiting today, but when we got there, she got a little nervous. However, after we showed Santa the pictures that she had colored for him, she warmed up and decided to sit on his lap. She put in her request and Santa told her that she was the first little girl that had asked for a train set, and he would have the elves get right on making a set for her. I think over all this visit was a success.

Chloe and Santa

Chloe and Abby with Santa

Letter to Santa

2011-12-07T15:41:00.005-07:00

Chloe wrote her very first letter to Santa this year - with a little bit of help - and it is so cute. She wrote all the things she wants all by herself and drew a picture of Santa (big belly and all). At first, she only had two things on her list, but then she told me that, "that's not a lot of toys," so we added one more to the list. I had to remind her that Mom and Dad give her presents, too. My favorite part of the letter writing experience was when she told me to remind Santa to take off his shoes when he comes into our house! What a silly cutie!

We also mailed using a special mail box that goes directly to the North Pole. Plus, if you include a stamped envelope, Santa will personally write a letter back. So within a few days, Chloe should be receiving a letter back from Santa. =)

Cousins

2011-11-28T12:13:00.002-07:00

I realized that we had all of the kid cousins from my side of the family in town, so I grabbed them all up for a quick photo. Man, it is hard to get that many kids to look and smile at the camera all at the same time. Here is the best one! What a good lookin' bunch of kids.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T11:53:00.005-07:00

We got the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family this year, one dinner with my family on Wednesday and the another with Aaron's family on Thursday. We also had my dad and Kelly over on Friday...but since we were all sick of Turkey, we barbequed. :) It was wonderful to spend so much time with everyone and be reminded of how thankful we are to have such a wonderful family and to have a lot family live near by. This year, the top three things that I am most grateful for are:

-My beautiful girls: They light up my life and I love that they get along so well together.

-My handsome husband: He is such a strength in my life and is a wonderful father to our children.

-The Gospel: It is so nice to know who I am, why I am here and to have constant direction in my life.

My life is truly blessed and I am so thankful for that! Here are some of the pictures I took on Wednesday. I forgot to get the camera out on Thursday!

The kid's table

The Dollahites, Huntingtons and Ackermans

The Ehats and Hurds

The Huntingtons

The Allens and us

Yep, Abby totally fell asleep right during dinner.

2011-11-16T10:10:00.002-07:00

Check out my little dancing queens. Chloe is wearing her favorite dancing outfit and dancing to her favorite song "Barbie Girl". Love these two!

She Stands!

2011-11-04T08:41:00.003-06:00

Abby has actually been standing on her own for a week or two now, but she is really getting the hang of it now. She can stand independently for about 20-30 seconds without falling.

Abby will pull herself up to anything and everything, and from there let go and stand up. It is fun, but at the same time that means that walking is the next step, and I don't know if I'm ready for that yet!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T11:45:00.005-06:00

Happy Halloween! I made the girls pumpkin-shaped (and colored) pancakes for breakfast and Chloe thought that was pretty cool. Abby, on the other hand, didn't care about the shape or color, she just wanted to eat it.
That afternoon, we headed over to Aaron's work for cubical trick-or-treating. Chloe won the cutest costume award and got a pumpkin lantern as her prize. This year, Abby was a bunny and Chloe was Rapunzel. She was just going to be a princess, but then decided she wanted to be Rapunzel. So, I got some yarn and made her a wig. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Then we went to the Cummings' house for trick-or-treating. It is always more fun to go trick or treating with other kids...and adults for that matter =). Chloe and Abby got a boat load of candy that should last us at least until next Halloween. Just seeing it all makes me sick!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-01T09:28:00.007-06:00

On Sunday night we broke out the knives and carved our pumpkins. However, after starting on one and realizing that Aaron does it all anyways, we decided to just carve one and let Chloe color the other pumpkin. Her pumpkin turned out adorable; she is such a little artist. Abby, on the other hand, kept trying to eat the pumpkin, so we had to strap her into the high chair and give her some real food while we proceeded with the festivities.

Me and Chloe

Abby eating the pumpkin

Chloe and Daddy

Chloe drawing on her pumpkin

The finished products

Trunk-or-Treat

2011-11-01T09:20:00.006-06:00

We started the Halloween events off this past Saturday at our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's where people decorate their trunks up and the kids go trick or treating to everyone's cars instead of their doors. Kinda random, but still fun. This year was hectic because there were two wards having trunk-or-treats at the same time and in the same church parking lot, but Chloe had fun and we got to see all of our neighbors in their adorable costumes.

Bentley and Chloe

(I have a picture of these two from last year, check it out from last Octobers post)

Chloe and Paden

Me and my girls

Lake Tahoe

2011-10-30T21:32:00.006-06:00

Our last stop on our trip was Lake Tahoe. We really didn't have anything specific planned for while we were there, just drive and stop whenever we want. This was my first time in Tahoe and it was beautiful. I don't know how I grew up in California and was never taken there.

We stopped and took a short two mile (round trip) hike to the Vikingsholm Castle. It was closed for the season so we couldn't go in, but we could peek in a few windows and walk around the grounds. We were so proud of Chloe because she walked almost the whole way! What a little trooper. We kept her walking by letting her find acorns to fill her pockets with.

Aaron's favorite part of the trip was driving to the beginning of the famous Rubicon Jeep trail head. He is planning a trip for next Labor day to go on it with is dad and brother-in-law. Just seeing it got him excite. Now he just has to figure out how to get everyone's Jeeps there without having to drive them 10 hours there and back.

After driving around the lake, we got to our hotel and played in the pool/hot tub until bed. The next morning we packed up and headed home. We packed a lot into our vacation and drove over 2,500 miles, but we had a great time and got in a much needed vacation.

San Francisco

2011-10-28T10:09:00.007-06:00

In San Francisco, we spent the day walking around on the waterfront and the piers. We also took a boat ride around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. We ended the day driving down Lombard street.

At Pier 39, we stopped to see the sea lions and Abby was fascinated with them. She kept grabbing at the railing trying to reach them. We also found a little beach and stopped to play for a minute. Chloe liked putting her feet in the cold water and waiting for the next wave to come in. It was her first time in the ocean. in fact, it was also the first time seeing the ocean....she wasn't all that impressed. :)

The boat ride was fun because I had never been before. We went all around Alcatraz and under the bridge. It w a tour boat, so they shared fun facts the whole time as well. Did you know the Golden Gate Bridge did not get that name because of its color, but because the passage of water it spans was named the Golden Gate long before the bridge was ever even built? The kids thought it was fun, but by the end of a 90 minute ride around teh bay, they had both fallen asleep.

By the time we got to Lombard Street it was too dark to get great pictures but it was still fun to say that we drove down it...I don't know how people stand actually living on it with all the tourists constantly driving down it.

Muir Woods

2011-10-28T09:59:00.006-06:00

I have always loved going to Muir Woods National Monument because it is sooo beautiful. I thought Chloe would get a kick out of seeing all the big Redwood trees, so we made this one of our stops. Chloe told me that she liked them because, "They were so huge!" Our pictures are not great from here because we changed the setting on the camera and it made them a little blurry...oh well!

I think this tree is kinda big, don't you?

Aaron with the kids

At the entrance

Chloe and Daddy

This tree started growing in 90 A.D. and fell in the 1930's

The trees

Chloe showing off the big leaf she found

Golden Gate Bridge

2011-10-28T09:44:00.006-06:00

Since we packed so many fun things into our trip to California, I have decided to do a bunch of mini posts instead of one huge one. So, the next few posts will all be from our trip.

We spent a night in San Francisco and the next day we headed out to Muir Woods. In order to get there, we got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. We stopped so we could walk over it; however, the sidewalk on teh end of the briedge we stopped at was closed, so we couldn't walk across it without driving back towards San Fancisco and paying the toll. Oh well, we got some fun pictures anyways and now we can say we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge.

My newest favorite picture of our beautiful girls.

Devon on the walkway to the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Our Family

Driving over the bridge.

Chloe

Fairy Tale Town

2011-10-27T10:41:00.004-06:00

When I was a kid, one of my favorite places to go was Fairy Tale Town. It is a park that is themed all around different fairy tales. Thus, when I knew that we were going to Sacramento for my cousin's wedding, I knew that we had to make a special stop. So after 9+ hours of driving, we arrived at Fairy Tale Town and had a few hours of fun.

At the entrance with Humpty Dumpty

Riding on Cinderella's pumpkin carriage.

It was pretty much the same as I remember it, just a lot smaller=). The crooked mile was one of my favorite places to play and the three blind mice's cheese was also a big hit for me as a kid. Chloe loved it all. She told me that she liked Mary's lambs (Mary had a little lamb) and Owl's tree house from Winnie the Pooh.

The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe.

In Sherwood Forest

Sitting on Mother Goose's lap

The Three Blind Mice's cheese

It brought back tons of fun memories and I was glad that we got to go!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T14:35:00.006-06:00

We went with our neighbors today to the local pumpkin patch, and of course I had to bring my camera to document it. The weather was a million times better than when we went to Cornbelly's last week, so the kids were able to enjoy it much more. I love that I am a stay at home mom and can just do fun things like this whenever I want!

Abby

Chloe and Bentley

Chloe in the corn pit

Just us girls

The BFF's

My cute girls. What up with that face, Chloe?

Cornbelly's Corn Maze

2011-10-13T14:14:00.007-06:00

One of the main things Tawna wanted to do while she was in town was to go to a corn maze. The weather was not too cooperative, but the sun did come out on Saturday, so we all bundled up and headed to the Cornbelly's in Lehi.

Our Family

On the cow train

It was my first time going to this particular corn maze, and I was amazed at how many things there were to do. We spent two+ hours there and didn't even get to the corn maze itself! I don't know if there was a favorite activity that Chloe liked best, but I do know of one that she did not like at all! There was a clown house that had fake severed clown heads hanging from the ceiling!!! Yeah, there should be a warning for parents before entering that kind of attraction!

Daddy and Abby

On the Pumpkin Princess' Carriage

Picture with the Pumpkin Princess

Despite the cold weather, we all had a great time and it was a great way to kick off the Halloween season.

Chloe...what a ham!

Who do you think liked the corn more?

Grandma and Grandpa with Kiara

GO COUGARS!!!

2011-10-10T11:27:00.005-06:00

On Saturday night, we braved the cold to go to the BYU vs. San Jose State football game with Tawna, Tim, Amber, Casey and my parents. It didn't start until 8:15 p.m., the temperature was in the low 40's, we had two tired children and we were literally one row from the top of the stadium (and Lavell Edwards Stadium is pretty darn big)...sounds like a recipe for disaster right?

We didn't think we would make it through the whole game but we did and had a great time. Abby fell asleep and Chloe sat on Tawna's lap the whole time. At one point we thought Chloe was falling asleep because she looked totally zoned out, but it turns out she was just looking for Cosmo (BYU's mascot). When she finally found him, she gave Tawna his play-by-play for the rest of the game.

We won the game, which made it even more fun. We finally got home and put teh kids in bed at midnight! I know, we're just fabulous parents. =)

Cookie Time

2011-10-10T11:19:00.002-06:00

One night while Tawna was in town, we got together and decorated Halloween sugar cookies with all the kids. Chloe literally spent 30 minutes working on her cookie making sure that she put on every topping that we had. It was a huge hit and we all left with frosting on some part of our clothing.

Chloe

Abby

Chloe, Kayden, and Tawna

Abby's Nine Months

2011-10-04T18:48:00.004-06:00

Our little Abby is now nine months old...where does the time go? She has two personalities: extremely happy or extremely grumpy. It is rare to have her just be mellow and calm. She absolutely loves to eat! If someone is eating around her and she doesn't get any, she gets so mad.

She is just crawling all over the place and loves to play with Chloe. She crawls back and forth from our room to Chloe's and takes off whenever Chloe calls her name.

We went to the doctor today and she said she is perfectly healthy. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 1/2 lbs. - 4.5 percentile

Height: 28in - 62nd percentile

Head: 17.3 in - 62nd percentile

Teeth: 1 with another on the way

We got the idea for this picture from our neighbor (thanks Lauren!). I couldn't get her to smile because it was nap time, but oh well, she's still cute!

Chloe's First Day of Preschool

2011-09-22T12:29:00.003-06:00

Chloe started preschool yesterday and she loved it! We are doing it with five other neighborhood kids and rotating who is in charge of teaching that week. It is only one day a week for an hour and a half, but I think that is just about right for her age. I am excited for her and can't wait to see what she learns. I can't believe that we have a child old enough to start preschool! Man, I feel old =)

And yes, she wore all that jewelry the whole time!

Weekday Zoo Trip

2011-09-20T08:27:00.007-06:00

Last Monday, Aaron woke up with the desire to take the day off to spend with our family. I told him that if he was going to take the day off we were going to do something fun. So we went to the zoo. We headed up to the Hoogle Zoo and had a great time. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold!

Abby was mesmerized by all the animals and just sat in her stroller bouncing around with excitement when the animals would move around.

Chloe's favorite animals were the giraffes and the gorilla. She liked the gorilla because she thought it was funny (and gross) that while we were watching him, he ate his poop! Yep no joke, it was pretty disgusting to watch, but Chloe though it was hilarious. It is one of the first things she will tell you about if you ask her about our trip to the zoo.

Abby's life at Eight Months Old

2011-09-20T08:14:00.007-06:00

OK, so technically she is almost nine months old, but I couldn't think of a better title. =) Abby is such a little character and it has been so fun to see her little personality start to develop. Now that she is crawling, she will follow me all around the house and she gets into everything. Last night, she was trying to play with one of our decorations and when I told her no, she looked back at me and laughed!!! NO joke! We are going to have our hands full with this one.

She also loves to put anything and everything into her mouth. The funny thing with this is that once she gets it in there, she will just use her gums to hold it in. She will be sitting there with a toy/piece of food hanging out of her mouth and have more toys/food that she is playing with in her hands. She also loves to stick out her tounge...it's pretty cute. =)

Chloe came in the other day telling me to go look at Abby. I knew she was asleep, so I figured there wasn't anything to see without waking her up. But Chloe kept telling me to go see. So when I did, this is what I found. Abby was totally asleep with her leg sticking out of her crib.

Abby also loves to stand up to things. If she can pull herself up to something, she will and she will get the biggest smile of satisfaction on her face. Which is also cute because she has her first little bottom tooth!

S'mores

2011-09-13T14:41:00.003-06:00

Last Friday, Aaron woke up thinking it would be fun to go somewhere and make s'mores. So, we called up the Searle's and invited ourselves over to use their fire pit. =) It was a chilly night so the fire felt wonderful and, of course, the s'mores were delicious. Chloe loves to pop the whole marshmallow in her mouth all at once, so that's whats in her mouth (and Abby's) in the picture below.

Labor Day Jeep Ride

2011-09-13T13:36:00.004-06:00

Since Aaron had Labor day off, we decided to head up American Fork Canyon with the Cummings and take the new Jeep out for her (yep, the Jeep's a girl) first off road adventure. Aaron has put in a lot of time on this thing and we were just hoping everything worked. She did really well, but she did get some battle wounds from the trip...oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. =) At the top of the trail we stopped for lunch and to stretch our legs. Here are some shots from the day.

Splash Pad

2011-09-13T09:22:00.003-06:00

I took Chloe and Abby to a splash pad a week or so ago and as always, they had a great time. Chloe is getting more comfortable around water, which makes going to splash parks much more enjoyable. Anyways, here are a few shots from the day...when I told Chloe I was going to take a picture of her, she posed like this all by herself! I don't know where she gets this stuff.

Silly Goose

2011-09-13T09:16:00.003-06:00

The other day, Chloe had been outside playing in her pool and whatnot and had a blast as always. When I brought her in, her feet were super black because she was running around in the street without shoes. So, I sat her up on the counter to rinse off her feet and she decided that the water felt so nice she needed to hop on into the sink for a little shower. What a silly girl!

On The Move

2011-08-24T18:34:00.001-06:00

And the fun begins!

Birthday Lunch

2011-08-18T21:38:00.003-06:00

A group of my friends took me out to lunch today for my birthday and despite having to occasionally chase our kids around, we had a great time. I feel so lucky to have such a great group of friends that all live so close to me. And to those of you who couldn't make it because of work or whatnot, we missed you! What a good lookin' group right?

28 and Feeling Great

2011-08-18T11:11:00.005-06:00

Yep, on Tuesday I turned 28 years old...only two more years until the big 3-0! For my birthday this year, Chloe and Aaron made me a delicious cake and took me to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. We invited the Cummings to come with us as well and we had a great time. It was a beautiful night and I even ran into one of my old students. It made me feel really old to know that I taught him when he was in third and fourth grade and now he is headed to tenth grade! So, thanks to everyone who called and wished me happy birthday -- it truly was a happy one. =)

Slip-N-Slide Fun

2011-08-10T10:07:00.003-06:00

When I think of childhood fun, playing on a slip-n-slide always comes to memory. Here is a fun video of Chloe and some of her friends on the slip-n-slide and a few pictures.

Chloe's Boyfriend

2011-08-10T09:51:00.006-06:00

Chloe has herself a little boyfriend! Whenever we go outside, Chloe has to look down the street to see if her friend Bentley is out because she wants to play with him. If we are on our way home from somewhere, she always says, "Mom, when we get home lets see if Bentley is outside so we can play." It's so cute, and the best part is that they play so well - and nicely - together. My favorite thing is when we are ready to go home, Bentley always has to walk Chloe home...yep his parents are teaching him well. =)

Summer Goal

2011-07-29T08:37:00.003-06:00

Aaron told me the other day that he felt like we haven't done many "summer activities," So he made a goal for us to go on a picnic and have a BBQ every week for the rest of the summer. We have done pretty good so far and have had a lot of fun on our picnics. Our new favorite picnic place in up in Hobble Creek Canyon at a campground called Jolly's Ranch. There is a great playground and the creek is low enough that we can take the kids down to play in the water. We went up last Sunday after church for dessert - that counts for me as a picnic - and then played in the water. Abby even put her feet in for awhile.

Swimming at Grandma's

2011-07-29T08:22:00.005-06:00

I am always surprised at how few people have pool's in Utah. Having grown up in California where everyone has a pool, it just seems strange to me that people in Utah don't get pools. So, I feel extra lucky that when my parents moved out here, the house they bought had a pool! Chloe just loves to swim, and lets be honest, so do Aaron and I. We went over last Saturday for a nice little swim and finally decided to document some of our summer fun.

Chloe

Grandma and Chloe

Chloe showing off her new goggles

Abby zonked out from a fun day swimming

Grandpa lounging around

Sundance Ski Lift

2011-07-15T10:08:00.006-06:00

Last Saturday while family was still in town, we decided to go up to Sundance Ski Resort and take the ski lifts up for a ride. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice time relaxing on the lifts.
When we got to the top, we took a little hike to a look out of Stuart Falls and had a picnic lunch. As a side note, I had Abby in the baby carrier the whole time so she was safe and secure =) and we had the bar down in front of us so Chloe wouldn't fall out either.

Chloe and Grandma

Ty, Chloe and Ethan (yep, somehow Chloe talked Ethan into carrying her most of the way.)

Chloe, Emma and Riley on our little hike.

My little family (minus Aaron) with a beautiful view of Stuart Falls in the background (top left).

All of us enjoying our lunch.

Chloe and Abby (it's a little blurry because the battery was low, but still a cute picture)

A group shot of the cousins at the top of the lift.

If any of you were wondering why Aaron wasn't in any of the pictures from today, it was because he was at home working on the Jeep with his dad all day. So while we were enjoying a beautiful day, Aaron was up to his elbows in grime and grease! Who do you think had more fun?

Scera Pool

2011-07-13T15:42:00.003-06:00

Another thing that we usually do while Aaron's family is in town is go to a water park or pool. This year we dropped the big kids off at Seven Peaks and took the little ones to the Scera Pool. I was worried how Chloe and Abby would do but they both did great. Abby fell asleep and the pool area was shallow enough that Chloe could walk around in most of it. It was a win-win situation!

Every time I tried to take a picture of Chloe, she stuck out her tongue!

Me and Abby

Gracie, Chloe and Ashley

4th of July

2011-07-13T15:18:00.004-06:00

The 4th of July is always a much anticipated holiday in the Searle household. All of Aaron's family comes into town for a family reunion and we always have a blast. Chloe had a great time playing with her cousins and for the first time, wasn't super shy around them. As soon as we got to the Searle's house, Chloe went straight to her cousins and asked them to go downstairs and play, and from then on I hardly saw her. That would have been a nice break for me, but Abby wouldn't let me set her down for a second the whole day. Oh well!
I was in charge of the games this year and we started off with a game of kickball with a little water twist. Each of the bases had a different water feature that you had to go through, and in order to get home you had to slide on a slip-n-slide. We played that for a while and then of course, a huge water fight broke out and then the fun really began!
Chloe had hurt her knee earlier on in the day and refused to walk on it, but we were able to get her to kick the ball once.
The rest of the day, Chloe had Elissa carry her around! Thanks again!
I had a bunch of Minute to Win it games planned, but the weather had other plans for us. It started to rain right as we started the games. We tried to move them inside but it was just too crazy. We did get a chance for Aaron to play Junk in the Trunk before we called it quit though and we got quite the show!

But through it all we had a great time and can't wait until next year to do it all over again.!

Parade

2011-07-12T12:39:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July parade in Provo this year. We had a great spot under the shade of a tree, not that we needed it much because it was overcast and even rained on us a little, but that didn't damper the fun.

The Cousins

Chloe, Daddy and Abby

Abby seemed to enjoy herself.

The whole group (check out Aaron's face... classic)

Abby was pooped out by the end of the parade.

Chloe and Mommy

Fireworks

2011-07-12T12:31:00.003-06:00

We always go to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks and this year was no exception. It was just our little family this time, but Chloe and Abby both loved them.

Family Picnic

2011-07-12T12:26:00.004-06:00

Whenever Aaron's family comes in town we try to go on a family picnic up the canyon. However, this year it was packed at all the canyon parks, so we found a cute little park in Provo instead. The kids didn't mind and had fun playing in the sand and at the playground. As a side note, Chloe wore this exact outfit that Abby has on in the pictures below. Check out our post from July 2008 and see how much they look alike.

Abby and Grandpa

Gracie, Chloe, Ashley and Maddie

Water is Totally Overrated!

2011-06-29T09:56:00.008-06:00

Whoever said you need water in your pool to have fun obviously didn't tell these kids. My mom's pool is undergoing some repairs, which has left a big concrete hole in their backyard. So, while we were at my parent's house for dinner last Sunday, Chloe and the other cousins had tons of fun playing in the "pool."

Chloe

Michael, Elijah, Chloe and Kayden

Aaron and I

Mara and Tawna holding Abby

Seven Years and Counting

2011-06-27T08:59:00.005-06:00

Last Sunday was our seven year anniversary. However, since it was also Father's Day, we didn't celebrate it until Tuesday. My mom and Tawna were brave enough to watch the kids for us and endure hours of Abby's crying, and we really appreciated it.

While on our date (the first one with just us in way too long), we realized that yeah, we do still love each another...hehe =). We found ourselves holding hands, opening up doors for each other and just having fun! NOT that we don't do that with the kids, but you know how it is when you have two young ones fighting for your attention all the time!

Needless to say, we had a wonderful time and I am so grateful for my husband. He is the best husband and father to our children that I could ever ask for. He is a hard worker, fulfills all his church callings, serves others, is loving, kind, handsome, caring, thoughtful and so much more. How I got so lucky is beyond me. Thank you Aaron for everything you do and for the past seven years. I can't wait for the next 700 that I get to spend with you.

I'll end with the quote from the card that Aaron got for me for our anniversary.

"I'll follow you wherever you go....

The view from behind is great!

Happy Anniversary and Happy Fathers Day! I love you!

Family Pictures

2011-06-21T08:25:00.011-06:00

We got our family pictures taken last week by our friend Kim (http://kimberlyaldrichphoto.blogspot.com), and we love them! Here are just a few of our favorites.

Discovery Park

2011-06-16T14:41:00.004-06:00

So I know that this park isn't new, but it was the first time that I had taken the kids there so I deemed it picture worthy =). This park reminds me of one that I would go to as a kid and it totally brought back some fun memories. We would always go to see a firework show at a park in Davis, California with all of my family and at this park, they had a huge wooden play area that we would play at and this park is pretty much the same.

I knew Chloe would love it and of course she did! While we were playing she told me what a cool park it was. Tawna is also in town, so she came along to play. Chloe loves to play with Tawna, whenever she comes home all Chloe wants to do is go to Grandmas so she can play with Tawna. She could care less if me or even Grandma is there to play, all she wants is Tawna. So sweet!

Work of Art

2011-06-09T08:32:00.002-06:00

Chloe loves to color. She literally could color all day long if I let her. However, she has a particular way of doing it. This picture shows what most of her coloring looks like. She will fill up pages and pages like this and not let us through a single one away. Even if she is coloring in a coloring book or with chalk, everything is multicolored. The best part is that once she uses a crayon, she will put it aside in a neat line and has to go through all the rest of the colors before she will use it again. What a funny little girl! I love her pictures though and have them all around the house.

Check me out!

2011-06-07T10:23:00.007-06:00

Yep... Abby is sitting up independently now. She is still a little wobbly, but being that she just started a few days ago, I think she is doing pretty good!

We also gave Abby rice cereal for the first time on Sunday and she loved it! Granted more of it came out than went in, but that is to be expected. We also let Chloe help feed Abby and Chloe thought that was just the coolest thing ever.

Moab 2011

2011-06-01T22:50:00.005-06:00

Every Memorial Day weekend we head down to Moab with Aaron's parents, the Cummings, and the McKinlays. We had a lot of fun, but unfortunately didn't take a lot of pictures. In fact, Aaron didn't take a single one of him on a trail in the Jeep. I think it had to do with the fact that he was in his old Jeep with the new one sitting at home in the garage.

I did take a few shots of the kids while we were in Arches National Park. We went shopping the day before and got the kids matching shirts. Arches was kind of a bust because that day the wind was blowing between 20-30 mph and we got sand blasted every time we got out...oh well! Heather was nice enough to hold Abby through it all and did a great job of keeping the sand out of her face.

Other than the wind, we had great weather and spent lots of time outside playing. We even took Abby on her first Jeep trail! She slept through it all. =) Aaron is excited for our next trip because he will get to take his new Jeep Rubicon down and see how it does.

C-H-L-O-E

2011-06-01T22:43:00.004-06:00

Chloe is able to write her name now, and she just thinks it is the coolest thing ever! She got so excited the first couple of times she wrote a letter and actually recognized it. Here is a shot of her name that she wrote. Chloe can also identify all the upper case letters so my next goal is to get her to recognize her lower case letters and her numbers. She knows some numbers but isn't as interested in them. But, I am still proud of her, she is such a little smartie!

Introducing Kiara Nichole Allen

2011-06-01T22:31:00.004-06:00

My newest niece, Kiara, was born on April 22nd and I was finally able to do a photo shoot with her. As most of you know, she came a month early and was born at home in Amber's bathroom in the middle of the night. Kiara had to spend a few weeks in the NICU due to some lung problems but was finally able to come home a few weeks ago (while still on oxygen) and now she is doing great and off of all her tubes and monitors. We feel so blessed that all is well with her and welcome her home!

Just Too Cute

2011-05-19T16:11:00.003-06:00

There is just something precious about a baby laughing, however throw in the fact that it is her big sister that is making her laugh and it just melts your heart. I can't tell you how many times I have come in and found Chloe making Abby laugh. Abby just thinks Chloe is the funniest thing around. Sure, Aaron and I can get her to laugh, but Chloe can keep her laughing. I got this video today while I was putting the groceries away and thought it was just too cute. I sure love these little girls!

Mmmmm.... Feet

2011-05-19T16:08:00.003-06:00

Isn't ii fun when they reach new milestones. Abby found her feet a few weeks ago and loves to play with them.

Abby Laughing

2011-05-10T18:36:00.001-06:00

Abby has been laughing for quite a while now but whenever I get the camera out to video her, she stops laughing. However, tonight I got a few good chuckles on video. She wasn't super giggly but you get the picture. I also recorded a little bit of Chloe in because I haven't got a video of her for a while (so that part probably isn't too interesting for you so you can just stop watching after Abby laughs =).

Who Needs A Teddy?

2011-05-05T15:19:00.003-06:00

Who needs a teddy bear when you have a little sister to snuggle with? I had both of the kids asleep in bed with me this morning while Aaron was getting ready for work and he woke me up to show me this. It was totally worth waking up for!

Four Months Old

2011-05-03T11:09:00.002-06:00

We had Abby's four month Well-Child checkup with the doctor yesterday and to quote him on how she is doing, "She is a perfectly healthy baby, good job!" That is always good to hear. She is up to 12.5 lbs. which puts her in the 21st percentile and her length is in the 88th percentile. She is 25.5 inches long- holy cow- that means she has grown six inches in the past four months! She is getting so big and is such a fun baby (most of the time).

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T14:16:00.011-06:00

For Easter this year we went to my parents' house on Saturday and then to Aaron's parents' house on Sunday. It was a fun filled Easter and we now have way too much candy in our house!

All of the cousins

Here Chloe out hunting for eggs at my mom's house on Saturday. She was taking her time finding the eggs and when the hunt was over she said, "My basket isn't very full!" Some of the bigger kids heard this and gave her some of their candy. What sweethearts!

Me and my beautiful girls!

Here is Chloe having a ton of fun finding all the eggs, candy and toys the Easter bunnny left. She came into our room Sunday at 6:30 a.m. to tell us that the Easter bunny had come. We had to convince her to go back to bed for a least another hour, which she did. Then we headed down stairs and started the hunt.

Here is Abby checking out her Easter basket. Chloe helped fill up Abby's basket with eggs and new toys.

Here are Chloe and Abby with their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny brought Chloe the Tangled Barbie and also the Tangled soundtrack. He also left a new toy for Abby.

Here is a picture of the girls in their Easter dresses before church on Sunday.

I'll end this post with a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley: "Of all the victories in human history, none is so great, none so universal in its effect, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord who came forth in the Resurrection that first Easter morning." Happy Easter to all!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

2011-04-20T09:51:00.005-06:00

For Family Home Evening this week we dyed Easter eggs and had a lot of fun. Chloe liked coloring on the eggs and then plopping them into the dye. The whole activity didn't last long, but it was still fun. If you are wondering why Abby isn't in any of the pictures, it's because she slept through the whole thing. :)

Snuggly Sisters

2011-04-08T10:48:00.002-06:00

As I was trying to quickly clean the house while Abby was sleeping this morning, Chloe comes up to me and tells me that Abby was awake. I told her that since she wasn't crying to just leave her alone and for her to continue playing. I figured that as long as she was content in her crib, I would try to get as much done as possible. Well, when I got to Abby's room this is what I found.

Chloe told me, "See, I told you she was awake. Abby likes it when I snuggle with her." What a sweetie. So what did I do? I did what any reasonable parent would do... I left Chloe in the crib with Abby until Abby started fussing. =) And yes, Chloe is in her witch Halloween costume.

Out Cold

2011-04-06T19:41:00.004-06:00

I always find it amazing how fast kids can fall asleep and not only that, but the positions/places that they do it in. I was playing with Chloe the other day and left for about five minutes to put some laundry away, and when I came back she was out cold. My favorite thing was that she still had the toy she had been playing with in her hand.

Then, at the same time I had taken Abby out of the Baby Bjorne and she didn't wake up at all while I was doing it. So for a few peaceful moments, I had two sleeping kids.

Big Girl Bike

2011-04-04T10:47:00.007-06:00

We bought Chloe her first big girl bike with training wheels last week and it has been a huge hit. It is a Barbie bike and it has all the bells and whistles: a bell, basket, streamers for the handle bar and a Barbie sized bike that also attaches to the handle bar so Barbie can ride with her. Chloe loves it, and she loves her new helmet, too. I was worried that she wouldn't want to wear it, but she's all for it!

It was so cute the other day because there were a bunch of neighborhood kids out with their bikes, and they all kept riding up and down the street playing and chasing each other. It has been so much fun already this spring because Chloe is finally playing with the other kids instead of clinging to my side and watching them the whole time. I can't wait until it stays warm all the time and we can play outside all day!

Build-A-Bear

2011-03-31T15:28:00.011-06:00

We were invited to go to Build-A-Bear with our nephew Owen for his birthday on Tuesday and it was a lot of fun. Neither Chloe or I had ever been before so it was a whole new experience for both of us. Chloe was a little timid at first, but when we started trying on different outfits for her new dog, she opened right up. After Build-A-Bear, we all went over to Pirate Island for pizza and games. We took tons of change so Chloe could play games to her heart's content. I think she went on the merry go round at least four times. =) She also loved collecting the tickets that spit out from the games and turning them in for an army guy and ruler at the end.

We rounded off the night with cake and ice cream back at the Cummings house. Chloe just loves playing with her cousins and we could barely tear her away to go home. She told me, "But Mom, we were having so much fun." Needless to say, we had a really fun day!

3 Months Old

2011-03-28T16:49:00.004-06:00

Abby is now three months old and she is just a doll! It seems like everyday her cheeks are getting chubbier and her giggles are even cuter. Here are some recent shots of our little sweetheart. I also had to take one of both of my little beauties just because =)

Little Cougar

2011-03-24T16:01:00.007-06:00

As I was getting Abby ready for the day, I decided to put her in her BYU onesie in lieu of tonight's game (BYU vs. Florida). As I was doing so, I realized that I have a picture of Chloe in the same onesie at around the same age so I thought I would take a picture and compare the two. I think they look alike, how about you? On a side note, I tried to get Chloe in her BYU cheer leading outfit too, but she was being a stinker and didn't want too, oh well! Which one is which- can you tell?
(Chloe is on the top and Abby is on the bottom)

Chloe's Wedding

2011-03-22T20:05:00.005-06:00

Chloe has been on a wedding kick lately. If you ask her about her wedding, she will tell you that she is going to get married in the temple =), but she doesn't know who the boy is yet. She then asks, "Do you?" Then she procedes to tell us that she is going to wear a pink "married dress" and pink shoes. She tells us once she gets married, they will brush their teeth together and put their clothes in the same closet (because that is all that married people do differently, right?). Finally, she tells us after she gets married she is going to have her very own baby. My little girl is growing up too fast!

Sweet Bliss

2011-03-22T19:49:00.004-06:00

Abby has decided recently that she will only be happy if she is being held by me. So needless to say, by the end of the day my arms are tired and Chloe is feeling left out. However, today I discovered the key to Abby's happiness. It came in the form of a baby swing! I borrowed one from Aaron's parents and Abby just LOVES it. She falls asleep in it in a matter of minutes. Then if she is awake, she will just sit there perfectly content. Dinner tonight was the most pleasant dinner we have had in awhile. Thank you, Bob and Barbara Ann, your swing has saved our sanity. =)

Smarty Pants

2011-03-16T12:28:00.007-06:00

Chloe has been cracking me up lately with some of the sentences that she has been saying. She has been using a lot of big words that I don't think most three year olds know (let alone use in sentences). Here are some examples of the sentences she is using.

"He is gorgeous."

"That guy looks funky."

"She is beautiful."
"I can hardly see anything in here."

"I figured you wanted to push me on the swing."

"These are similar."

"I actually want this one."

"Now, you go over there Daddy because you are annoying me!"

"Are you kidding me?"

Little Giggles

2011-03-14T09:25:00.004-06:00

Last night, Aaron was able to make Abby giggle for the first time. She has been making laugh-like sounds for a while now, but we got an official giggle last night. It was the cutest thing! It made Aaron's night that he was the first to get her to laugh. =) I got one more out of her this morning, too.

Other than that, we have really been enjoying the warmer (50 degree) weather and spending as much time outside as we can. Our favorite thing is to do is go to the park and play for hours on end. Here is a picture of the girls at the park on Friday.

Serious Bedhead

2011-03-04T08:48:00.003-07:00

Chloe woke up this morning with some serious bedhead. It was just too crazy not to take a picture. I embarrassed her when I told her I was going to take a picture of her, so she didn't want to smile for me, but she would stick her tongue out. She is such a girl when it comes to having her hair messy and not wanting anyone to see it. I will tell her that her hair is messy when she wakes up and she will try running her fingers through it to try to fix it.

Good Stats

2011-03-02T09:11:00.005-07:00

I took the girls to the doctor for Chloe's 3 year check up and Abby's 2 month check up and their stats were pretty good. Chloe is not a fan of going to the doctor and when he started his check up on her, she lost it. She tried to be tough but it didn't last, and before we knew it, the tears were flowing. Then to top it off, she had to get a shot and Abby had 3 so I had two screaming children to carry out to the car- yeah, it was fun!

Chloe:
Weight- 26lbs. (6.86 percentile, we were so excited that she wasn't off the charts, at her 2 year check up she was in the 0.8 percentile)
Height 35 in. (7.63 percentile)
Body Mass Index- 15.06 (29.65 percentile, it was in the 1st percentile last year)

Abby:
Weight-10.87 lbs. (46.94 percentile, nice and average)
Length 23.25 in. (79.26 percentile)
Head Circumference 15.1 in (35.46 percentile)

Snow Fun

2011-02-25T16:46:00.003-07:00

When I told Chloe this morning that it had snowed all night, the first thing she asked me was "Can I go outside and play in the snow"? I told her that she had to wait until Abby was asleep and it warmed up a little. She continued to ask me all morning and finally after lunch, I bundled her up and we went out to play. Granted she only lasted about 15 minutes but she still had fun. She even tried to ride her car in the snow (it didn't work too well for some strange reason=)).

Abby's Two Months Old

2011-02-23T11:06:00.004-07:00

Our little Abby is two months old now. I don't know where the time has gone. It is already hard to imagine our lives without her. She is such a good baby and we are so blessed to have her.

At two months she consistenly wakes up at 7:00 am and wants to play, she will smile at you when you talk to her, she loves Chloe, and sleeps really good at night (she wakes up, eats, and then falls right back asleep- how did I get so lucky?). She also is starting to coo and laugh more and has a very strong little neck.

A little taste of Spring

2011-02-17T10:21:00.002-07:00

The past few days have been heavenly because we have had a little taste of spring weather. Granted, it has only been in the 40's and 50's but after a long cold Utah winter, 50 degrees feels fantastic! With all this nice weather we have done lots of bike riding and have spent the last two days at the park. It has been so nice to just get out of the house and be outside in the fresh air. However, all good things must come to an end because we were quickly reminded this morning that it is still winter in Utah when we woke up to snow on the ground. Hopefully it will warm up again soon so we can get back outside.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T12:11:00.002-07:00

Happy Valentines Day from our family to yours!

Abby's Blessing

2011-02-07T09:48:00.007-07:00

Aaron gave Abby a beautiful blessing yesterday and we had a lot of family come to share this special day with us. Thank you to all those that came!

The following people participated in Abby's blessing:

Aaron Searle
Bob Searle
Norman Dollahite
Dennis Huntington
Travis Cummings
Jeremy Friedbaum
Sam Friedbaum
Jessie Friedbaum
Josh Fulton
Andy Fulton
Sterling Hurd

Isn't she beautiful?

Great Grandma and Grandpa Huntington

Grandma and Grandpa Dollahite

Our family

Grandma and Grandpa Searle

Our girls

One last adorable shot of Abby

Jordan World Circus

2011-01-28T11:11:00.004-07:00

My sister Amber invited us to go to the circus with her family on Wednesday night and to top it off, she paid for it and called it a birthday present for Chloe...it was an offer we couldn't refuse.

Chloe was so excited to see the clowns and kept asking the whole time when they were coming. Unfortunately, they only had one clown and he was kind of lame. Oh well!

She loved seeing the elephants and the all the people flying through the air. It was fun to see and hear her expressions at each new act. Thanks, Amber!

Chloe's Third Birthday

2011-01-25T14:13:00.003-07:00

Chloe turned three this past Sunday, which is so hard to believe. These past three years have just flown by and I have loved every minute of them. Chloe is such a good little girl and has a fun personality. At three, she loves to play Barbies and Polly Pockets. She is also a girly girl and loves to play dress-up and always has to pack a purse before we can go anywhere.

Since her birthday was on Sunday, we decided it would be easier to celebrate it on Saturday and just tell her that Saturday was her birthday :). We took her to Jumpin' Jacks -- a place with tons of inflatable bouncey toys and slides -- and invited the Cummings to come with us. Chloe had a blast and we had a hard time getting her to leave.

Then we took her out to dinner and had Grandparents come over for cake and ice cream. We have decided to only have a big party every other year, thus the reason for only having grandparents over. Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Bob were sick that day and couldn't make it, and Grandpa Ron was out of town, so he couldn't come either. Despite the missing Grandparents, Chloe still had fun opening presents and playing with her new toys.

One of the biggest hits was her new kitchen that my parents got her. She loves it and hasn't stopped playing "food" since. However, I would say that the box of dress-up clothes that she got from the Cummings was a close second. So, even though we didn't have a big party, Chloe's third birthday was a success and she had a great time.

Three Weeks Old

2011-01-18T09:13:00.006-07:00

Wow, where has the time gone. I can't believe that Abby is already three weeks old! It has been an adjustment for everyone, but I think we are finally getting into the groove of having two kids. Chloe just loves Abby and is willing to do just about anything to help me with her.

Here is what I have learned about little Abby in just three short weeks. She hates being cold and will let you know if she is. She spits up like crazy! If you see her, nine times out of ten she will have a bib on and a burp cloth under her. She sleeps a lot, and without fail she will be awake from 10-11pm. She thinks if she is awake that she needs to eat and because of that, she has already gained a pound! Most of all, she is adored by everyone in her family and is a very good baby. We have been blessed again with another perfect child.

On a side note, Chloe has named all her babies Abby and likes to treat them like real babies. She will feed and burp them, change their diapers and carry them all around the house. The other day, I found Chloe with the boppy around her, her shirt up, and a baby pressed against her chest. Yep, she was nursing her baby. It was classic!

Finally, I snapped this picture of Chloe and it was just to classic not to post. Who does she think she is? And no, I did not teach her to pose like that. =)

Christmas Day

2011-01-04T15:47:00.005-07:00

As soon as we finished opening up our stockings, we got ready and headed out to my parents house to open presents with the rest of my family. My sisters were in town from Ohio and Kentucky and so it made for a big event. My brother Aaron and his family came in from Idaho, too, but not until Sunday afternoon.

For months, Chloe has been asking for a Pillow Pet. If you don't know what they are, it is a stuffed animal that turns into a pillow. Luckily, Chloe was a good girl and she got one from Santa.

Aaron surprised me with a new set of really nice cutlery...we haven't replaced ours since we got married six+ years ago, so we were in desperate need of new ones. Thanks again, honey!

Chloe's big present this year was a Barbie house which was built by Grandpa Ron, decorated by me, floors and painting by daddy and some furniture made by Grandpa Norman. I had been working on it for weeks, and the time came that I couldn't do the rest without the help of my wonderful husband. We didn't realize it would take as long to finish as it did. By 2:00 a.m. on the 23rd we finally finished. Aaron pointed out that we must be parents...staying up so late to finish a Christmas present two days before Christmas. Anyways, it was a big hit and Chloe hasn't stopped playing with it.

My dad got a new dance game for his Wii from my sister Melinda and we all took turns playing it. Aaron had to stop me a couple of times because for some strange reason he didn't want me going into labor on Christmas day. I finally convinced Aaron to do a dance with the rest of the guys and he didn't disappoint. When he does something, he does it right (as you can see from the picture).

Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas filled with family, fun and love. It was especially meaningful this year for me being so close to having little Abby. I could truly relate to Mary and only imagine what she must have been thinking and feeling.

Christmas Morning at Home

2011-01-04T11:52:00.004-07:00

Sorry about all the mini-posts, but I figured it was easier to do a bunch of little ones then one huge one. This year, we spent Christmas with my family, but before we went over to their house to open presents, we opened our stockings at home. Chloe had been asking Santa for a watch for Christmas and she got one in her stocking. She was very excited. Of course, she was almost just as excited when she found the box of Starbursts (they are her favorite treat) and a new wallet in her stocking as well!

Chloe's Christmas Dress

2011-01-04T11:48:00.003-07:00

We took some pictures of Chloe in her Christmas dress and they were just too cute not to post.

Christmas with the Fowler's

2011-01-04T11:37:00.002-07:00

Since we have so much family in the area, we always celebrate the holidays multiple times. We had an early Christmas with my dad and Kelly at their house on the 22nd. We had a great time and Chloe loved getting to open up presents before Christmas.

Introducing Abigail Ann Searle

2010-12-29T14:02:00.018-07:00

We checked into the Utah Valley regional Medical Center at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, December 27. By 8:45 a.m., Devon began receiving Pitocin, and at 10:41 a.m. we were holding little Abby in our arms. She was six pounds, 13 ounces and 19 inches long.

Despite telling the doctors and nurses that Devon has very fast labors and deliveries, the epidural was not given until too late - just ten minutes before Devon gave birth. Thus, it did not have time to take much effect and Devon felt the brunt of the delivery. Devon said that is as close to natural child birth as she ever wants to get.

During the delivery, Abby's heartbeat dropped super low and the doctor grew concerned. The nurse was sent to get a set of forceps. The nurse was also instructed to push the "code" button and call the neonatal intensive-care unit to the room. However, just as the nurse was prepping the forceps and the NICU team came through the door, Abby decided to come on out and began crying like a champ. Her vitals all returned to normal and she is doing great, as is Devon.

In fact, both are doing so well that we all came home from the hospital yesterday; just over 24 hours after Abby was born.

Happy Birthday, Aaron

2010-12-20T10:52:00.007-07:00

Happy Birthday to Aaron! Today he turns 29...just one more year until the big 3-0. Just think, next year I will be married to a 30 year old! =) Needless to say, I am so grateful that his mom kept trying for a boy and finally got one on child number six. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and father for our children. Happy birthday, honey!

We celebrated his birthday yesterday at his parents' house and had a nice relaxing evening. Aaron is one of the hardest people to shop for, but I thought I would be sneaky and try to buy him something that he didn't know about. However, when you go shopping with your 3 year old, secrets aren't easily kept. As we were getting ready to leave for his parents' house, Chloe yelled up the stairs to Aaron, "Daddy, we bought you another present...it's a shirt." Well, so much for that surprise! =)

36 Weeks and Counting

2010-12-06T17:10:00.004-07:00

At my last doctors appointment we scheduled an induction for the 27th of December, which is a week before my due date. i was so excited to have a date and time set because I didn't want to have this baby on the side of the road. That being said, at 36 weeks I am already dialated to a 3 almost 4 and 70% effaced. So yeah, we might just have this baby before Christmas! Now I am in super over drive to get everything ready for the baby and for Christmas. Here is a picture of me at 36 weeks.

The Next American Idol

2010-11-23T14:30:00.007-07:00

Chloe is our little singer. She knows a wide variety of songs, everything from Disney music to nursery rhymes to primary songs. Not only does she sing along with them, she actually knows most of the words, too. I recently put a mix of Disney songs in the car for her to listen to and after listening to them for a week or so, she started singing them; now she sings along when we watch the movies, too. Her little voice is so sweet to listen to. Here she is singing to Mulan and Beauty and the Beast. She was a little distracted as you can see, but you can get the idea. Enjoy!

Scriptures

2010-11-07T15:57:00.005-07:00

The other day, Chloe and I were sitting on our bed when she asks me, "Mom, can I have some scriptures?" So how could I refuse? We went to Distribution Services that afternoon and Chloe got her very own scriptures. She was so excited about them and on the way home asked, "Can we read my scriptures when we get home?" What 2 1/2 year old asks things like that? I guess where doing something right!

And speaking of scriptures, you know how sometimes you can get sleepy while reading them...

No, Chloe didn't really fall asleep while reading the scriptures, but she did fall asleep on the stairs after getting home from her cousin's baptism yesterday. I guess if you're really tired you can fall asleep just about anywhere.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-02T10:36:00.005-06:00

Well, after being spoiled with beautiful weather for that past few Halloweens, this year was quite the exception. We went to my mom's house for our annual Halloween dinner filled with monster toes and English muffin mummies and then waited for it to stop pouring outside long enough to trick-or-treat. Lucky for us we did all that trunk-or-treating the day before, so we didn't feel bad only going to five houses and then going home to warm up (Chloe didn't seem to mind either).

I convinced Aaron to dress up this year by only making him wear one thing: an apron. The aprons are kinda hard to read in these pics, but mine said "Bun in the oven" and Aaron's said "The Bun Maker." I even made a recipe card on how to cook the bun in the oven (see below). I purposely chose the close up picture of our aprons because my face is sure looking chubby with only8-9 weeks left before my due date

Since I knew the weather was going to be yucky on Halloween, I took my pictures of Chloe in her costume the day before. Isn't she the cutest witch you've ever seen? Thank you mom for making the cutest costume ever. It sure pays to have a talented mom, don't you think?

Trunk-or-Treat

2010-11-01T09:57:00.006-06:00

On the Friday before Halloween, our ward had a Trunk-or-Treat activity and it was a lot of fun. It is the best way to go trick-or-treating because it's fast and the parents get to socialize with each other so it makes it go by really quick. Chloe refused to say "trick-or-treat," but she would say thank you, so that's something, right?

Chloe in our trunk

Chloe hanging out with her friends Paden and Parker.

Chloe with her friend Bentley

Earlier that day, Aaron's work had a party and Chloe was able to trick-or-treat around the office, too. By the end of the night, she had tons of candy and it wasn't even Halloween yet.

Halloween FHE Activities

2010-10-27T10:59:00.004-06:00

For Family Home Evening last week, we decorated sugar cookies and then carved our pumpkins. We knew we wouldn't have enough time to do it all in one night, so Chloe and I did the cookies and then we waited for Dad to get home to carve the pumpkins.

Chloe's creative side came out while decorating the cookies. I would frost them and she would put on the toppings. Her favorite toppings were the mellow cream pumpkins and of course sprinkles.

We wanted Chloe to have a part in picking out what her pumpkin looked like so we got one of her Halloween books with pictures of jack-o-lanterns in it and let her pick her favorite. She chose a happy pumpkin.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-17T15:10:00.008-06:00

Last Friday, we took Chloe to a pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins and play. This pumpkin patch was great because it had a petting zoo, corn pit, hay maze, a huge hay pile for the kids to play in and it is right down the street from our house. The very best thing however, was the fact that it was all free (except for the pumpkins). We had a great time and Chloe loved picking out her pumpkin. For all of those friends who are local and want to know where this is, it is right off 400 South in Springville and is called Jakers Jacko Lantern Pumpkins.