Highlights from 2013

What a great year this has been! Our lives have sure changed from where we were at this point last year. Since we didn't get around to doing a Christmas card/newsletter, this is the next best thing! Here's a breakdown of our 2013:

In January I was very much pregnant, my sister's threw me an awesome "owl baby shower," and Jason and I had some fun with Marley's Tigger. Most of that month was spent preparing for the arrival of our baby girl. 

 I was still VERY much pregnant in February, because Marlene decided to come a week and a day late. That picture was taken the day before she was born. Then on February 13th she decided to grace us with her presence, and we have been smitten ever since.

 March was when my family came out to visit and we had Marlene's blessing. This was the first time my dad and Nathan got to meet her. During their visit was when I became more confidant in being able to take Marlene out and about.

 In April we celebrated Marley's first Easter, and got ready to move out on our own. The last weekend in April we moved to South Salt Lake and LOVE it! We live in a nice, quiet neighborhood and have moved into a really great ward.

 May was mostly spent just hanging out at home. Jason and I both started new jobs (Olive Garden and TJ Maxx) which we both enjoy. It was during this month that Marlene learned how to roll over.

 In June we had fun celebrating cousin Evie's birthday, playing outside, and Marley became quite the scooter. It was during this month that we learned she would no longer 
stay in one place.

 In July I decided to chop off my hair, Marley went to her first parade, and got to meet Auntie Heather and Uncle Mason. They came to visit around Pioneer Day, and we had a lot of fun! We also celebrated Jason's birthday and shot off lots of fireworks. During this month Marlene got to try baby food and liked it for the most part.

 August was a quiet month for us because Jason started up school again. He was very busy and didn't have a lot of free time, so Marlene and I spent a lot of time at home. It was around this time that she learned to sit by herself and got her first two teeth, you can see in the big picture there! I also quit my job at the beginning of August because it was conflicting too much with Jason's schedule, and he was making more than me.

 In September we got to celebrate cousin Jackson's first birthday! His party was so much fun, and since Marlene had just learned how to crawl she could keep up with all the other kids. She also learned how to pull herself up to standing this month.

 October was one of my favorite months because we got to see family in California! We had such a fun visit where we got to see so many friends and family, most of them were meeting Marley for the first time. Also, Marlene had her first Halloween and was the 
cutest unicorn ever.

 In November Marlene and I spent lots of time at home, after my car decided to die on us. We enjoyed a little time outside before cold set in, and Marlene had a great first Thanksgiving. I also went back to work just before Thanksgiving because I'm crazy because Jason had room in his schedule.

December was a crazy month! I was kept very busy working 8-hour days, and Jason was preparing for finals. We were trying to sell my car and almost got scammed BIG time by some not nice people early in the month. Thankfully, everything worked out and we still had an amazing Christmas. Marlene loved spending so 
much time with family, and so did we!

Now we're ready to start a new year full of new adventures! 
Some events to look forward to are: 
Marlene's first birthday in February
Buying a new car ASAP
Our 4th Anniversary in April
 A Farmer family trip to Disneyland in June
(I'm super excited for that! We've never all taken a trip together.)
And many more....

Happy New Year!

Marley's First Christmas

Marley had a great first Christmas! Because we have so much family in the area, our Christmas was spread out over a few different days. 

First, we got together with my sisters on the 15th. Marley opened her very first present ever, and it was a Minnie Mouse from her cousin Evie.

I love it when all the cousins can get together and play. They're so fun to watch. We all had fun visiting and eating yummy food. Its so nice that we all live close now. 

  

Our next Christmas was at Jason's parents' house in Cedar Hills on the 24th. It was so much fun because Auntie Heather and Uncle Mason were there! We don't get to see them very often, and they sure loved seeing Marley. 

Marley scored some great presents from Grandma and Grandpa. They got her a push toy that will help her learn to walk and keep her VERY busy. 

Our third Christmas was spent at home with just our little family. Marley woke up around 8, had a bottle, and then we opened presents. 

Our camera died just as Marley opened her first present, but we were able to get a bit of video before, and more pictures after it charged for a bit. 

After that, we were able to skype with my family and Marley opened her presents from Grandma, Papa, and Uncle Nathan. 

Then we headed to Bountiful for our fourth Christmas, with Jason's mom's side of the family. We're a pretty good looking bunch:

We had lots of fun visiting and opening presents, but Jason's allergies started getting really bad (they have a cat) so we went home early. 

After taking some naps and resting at home, we headed to our 5th Christmas, with the Henderson side. By this point, unfortunately I wasn't feeling too well and didn't get any pictures. We still had lots of fun though, and Marley loved all the attention. 

Christmas was a long day, but it was so much fun! Living close to so many of our family members is a blast. Now we're at home recovering from Christmas, craziness, and colds.

Can't wait to have my house back in order! Stay tuned for new projects coming up in 2014.

Thrifty Thursday: Holiday Garland

Its Thrifty Thursday! Today is the day I share craft projects that are virtually free. 

Today's craft is a holiday garland that uses stuff most people already have around the house. I found this fun site that has downloadable patterns all ready to be 
cut in strips, making it So easy!

Here's what you need:

-Computer paper

-Colored ink in your printer

-Scissors or paper cutter 

(Paper cutters are AMAZING. Get one if you don't have one already!)

-A stapler/or glue

Here's what you do:

-Go here to download some fun patterns

-Print your patterns out

-Cut your strips out and then cut them each in half

-Staple or glue your chain together 
(I stapled mine...my mantra is "Aint no body got time for that!" 
So I wasn't about to sit there and glue each paper...)

(Some tips: lay your strips in the order you want your pattern. I was sure that I was going to mess it up, but surprisingly I didn't! This helped. And you can see in the picture that I left a strip of white when cutting. This was just out of laziness, but you can't see it when stapled. Just saves a little time.)

Pretty simple! What I like about this is that The dimensions are already made up and I can save the files and make one each year. I will try storing mine with the Christmas decorations, but I'm pretty sure it will get smashed. 

Thanks whipup.net for the cute patterns! 

Marley's First Thanksgiving

Our day started out with Marley and I watching the Macy's Parade. I grew up watching that every year, and I knew she would have fun seeing all the bands, floats, and balloons. 

I think her favorite part was the marching bands.

After taking a nap it was time to head to Kaysville for Thanksgiving dinner with my mother-in-law's family. Marley had fun smiling at everyone and playing on the floor. 

Jason's grandpa was so cute, he got down on his knees to say hi to Marley once they arrived. He is a very sweet man and she loved the attention

Dinner was delicious, and Marley had some rolls. I was going to give her turkey to try, but she ended up needing a bottle right before we ate so I figured she would be too full. 

This little girl loves carbs the most anyways! 

I'm so grateful for the time we got to spend with family, especially my own little family. Sometimes we get so busy with school and work it is hard to find time to do stuff together. 

Now its time for Christmas! I'm so excited to take Marley to see the lights at Temple Square, get her picture taken with Santa, and have her open presents.