Ward Christmas Party

We were so excited that Dave had the night off and we were able to go to our Ward Party. Emily sat on Santa's lap for the first time, which went way better than I anticipated. She was a little unsure at first, then he handed her a candy cane and she was like putty in his hands.

Thanksgiving in Tehachapi

We had a lot of fun spending Thanksgiving in Tehachapi, and we did a lot while we were there, so of course, the time went way too quickly! Here are some of the things we did:

We played with Hunter,

We ate lots of yummy food,

We went to Chuck E.Cheese with the family,

Emily learned how to pose like Spiderman :)

We threw Ryan a surprise party,

And we tried to keep Emily entertained on the drive home.

So much fun! We're sad it's over, but Christmas is coming!

Monkey-ing Around

Emily got into our medical supply cabinet (athletic tape, band-aids, etc: not medicine thankfully) and as her "punishment," Dave hog-tied her with some pre-wrap. She actually thought it was pretty funny.

Our little Dr. Emily.

New Car Seat

I can't believe that Emily is finally big enough to have a forward facing car seat! We spent a while looking for one, and I really didn't plan on getting one so girly, but I couldn't help it once I saw it. She loves her new seat and being able to see out the front like Mommy and Daddy. I can't believe my baby is already a toddler!

Just a random picture: Emily thinks she's pretty funny when she romps through the pile of clean clothes fresh out of the dryer. I have to admit...I think she's pretty funny too!

Breakfast and Cheerleader

This morning Dave showed Emily how to make breakfast for Mommy. She was so excited!

I got out my old poms from my cheerleading days to dress up for our ward Halloween party and Emily sure has put them to good use since then. She LOVES to play with them! Who knows if she will want to cheer later in life, but for now, she's the most energetic one in the house.

October Highlights

Well, it has been a crazy month and with the holidays coming it will probably only get busier. Here are the fun things from October:

1. Halloween

2. Emily's First Birthday (She loves ladybugs...and cake)

3. Helping Mommy with Laundry

4. Feeding the Ducks

First Steps!!!

Emily finally took her first steps all by herself tonight. She is normally our little dare devil, with her headfirst dives off the couch and trying to jump off the edge of the pool, but for some reason she has taken forever to take her first steps. She has been pulling herself up to standing and walking around furniture for about 4 months now, and finally tonight she walked all by herself! We are so excited!

I love how she stands there like, "I don't think so." But then she goes towards Daddy...so fun!

New Posts

There are a few new posts, so scroll down if you want to see what we've been up to the last month.

Great Grandpa Kerr's 90th Birthday

We flew down to California last weekend for a party for my grandpa's 90th birthday. It was a great trip, and it was great to see my grandparents. My grandfather was a doctor, so he and my grandmother have been pretty healthy compared to other 90 year old people. I'm glad that we were able to go and be part of the celebration of his long and full life-we hope there are many more birthdays to come! Emily really liked playing at Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma's!

This is a cool picture of the sunset from the flight to CA. You can't tell from the picture, but the horizon was a deep red and was absolutely gorgeous!

While we were down visiting, we took Emily to the Play Place at McDonalds for the first time, and she loved it! Dave and I took turns taking her through the Sky Tubes and down the slide-which was her favorite part.

BYU Game and BBQ

For the first game of the season, we had a big BBQ with lots of family (and a few friends), then we all headed up to the game to watch BYU's first win of the season. The little kids had a hard time because it was so hot, but once it cooled down a little, they were fine. There were about 20 of us that went to the game together, and it was so much fun to spend the day with family. We all went back to our place for dessert after the game.We decided a long time ago that Emily would be a True Blue BYU Fan, so all of her BYU apparel is blue. Well, an old man at the game called her a boy! Just because she's in blue (BYU's colors are blue and white-duh), that does not make her a boy. Alright, I'm really not mad about it. I just think she is obviously a girl, but I am her mom, so I might be partial.

Emily's favorite part of the game-eating ice cream on the grass. How she's sitting cracks me up!

Shark Bite

I went to the doctor in late June to have a few things checked out, and he decided to go ahead and have one of my moles removed. My grandfather died of melanoma and my mom has already had it, so I knew that my skin has the potential for some pretty bad cancer. I didn't think anything of it until the pathology report came back and I needed to have it re-done, taking a bigger piece of my arm this time. That was a little scary, but it got even worse when the second pathology report came back and they decided to refer me to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
All I could think about was that I was only 23 and that Dave and Emily need me. So, I met with a surgical oncologist and he had his pathologist look at my slides (from the first two surgeries). He called me two days later saying that the report came back positive for melanoma. He wanted me to come up the next week so they could do a more invasive surgery and remove all of the cancer cells. We drove up to the LDS hospital at 5:30 am on Monday, August 25th. They knocked me out to do the surgery, so I only remember being wheeled around on a gurney, but when we had a follow-up appointment the very next day, my doctor told me that everything had been successful and that they had gotten all of the cancer cells. YAY!
This really was a wake up call for me that I shouldn't put off till tomorrow what I can do today. I don't want to procrastinate anymore (I still do sometimes), and I want to be a wife and mother that appreciates the process of growing up. I will always have a scar and a divot in my arm, like a shark bite, to remind me that life is too short to wait to do the important things.

Cougar Kickoff

Tonight was the Cougar Kickoff, where you "can meet all of your favorite players." Since Dave had to work, I figured that Emily and I wouldn't go, but Dave and I have been joking about getting Emily's picture with Max Hall(the quarterback) for a long time. So I decided to brave the crowd and see what I could get. There were a lot of LONG lines to meet the players (especially the good ones), but in the end, it was worth it. Emily loved getting her picture taken with not only Max Hall, but Austin Collie, Harvey Unga, and of course, Cosmo the Cougar. She loved Cosmo! Instead of looking at the camera, she kept trying to pet his face. She didn't want to look at the camera when the other guys were holding her either-she kept looking at them, as if to say "You're not my dad." They all seemed really impressed that she didn't cry when they held her, though. (Of course they had no idea that she is already boy crazy at 9 month!)

My Little Monkey

I've called Emily my Monkey for a long time now, but she is really living up to her new name these days. She just turned nine months, and she is climbing onto and up everything she can. Her stroller is new item of choice, but of course there is the couch, and inevitably the end table. And we can't forget anything and everything on the ground. If Dave or I are sitting/laying on the ground, she will use our shoulders or heads as stepping stones!

Into Everything

While I was getting everything ready for her bath the other night, Emily discovered the toilet paper holder. Good thing it was the end of the roll, otherwise it could have been much worse.

Daddy/Daughter Nap Time

I went out to water the plants the other day (which takes almost an hour), and when I walked back in the house, this sight welcomed me home. I thought it was so cute, I just had to share it.

Happy Birthday Dave!

I just wanted the world to know how grateful I am for my husband. He is so loving, kind, and patient with me (which, trust me, is no easy thing to do when I have my attitude). He is the coolest dad around and Emily's huge smile whenever he walks into the room is the best evidence of that. I love him for his funny, crazy side as well as for his sensitive, spiritual, and loving sides. He always makes time to play with Emily and to talk with me, he gets spit up all over him and just laughs about it, he works so hard to finish school and to provide for our family, and he always tells me I'm the most beautiful woman in the world, even when I know I don't look like it. I could never make it in this world without him. Happy Birthday Dave- I love you!