CRAWLING!!!!!!!!!!

After many lessons with daddy, our little lady is cruising around now!  I love the deep breathing and the little grunts... it is hard work! :) Time to baby-proof!  

Favorite things...

Throughout my years as a teacher, it was always so amazing to watch kids grow, develop, and mature.  Each child was so different and had something new to offer to the class.  It is a whole new level as we watch our own little Maylee grow.  It is so exciting!  She definitely has her own personality!  My family calls her our "party baby"!  Even at 9 months, she is one social girl!  She puts up a good fight at bedtime if other people are around- she doesn't want to miss anything! She loves jabbering(she's always carrying on a conversation with me:), dancing, clapping, and seeing how high she can make her voice go (that is a fun one)... 

I took her to the park today to do another one of her favorite activities:  SWINGING!  I didn't realize how much she enjoyed it, until I tried to take her out... Yikes!  She let me know through some pretty good screams that she wasn't done. :)

I LOVE this girl!  I feel so blessed!  I love staying home with her and try to enjoy every minute!

FAMILY and FUN in the SUN

My mom's sister, Keri, came into town this past week.  It was so fun to see her and have an excuse to play all day! :)  We decided to enjoy the weather and spend the day at Tempe Marketplace (an outdoor mall).  We had lunch outside, checked out a few stores, and then hung out at the splash pad while diving into ice cream!  We got the ice cream at MoJo's.  It is a place where you pay by the ounce and can pretty much put any topping you want to go along with any ice cream you choose.  I love it and I think Maylee enjoyed the ice cream as well! :)  (don't worry... it was dairy free, so instead of milk it was made with fruit, water, oh- and SUGAR!)

Enjoying the Moments...

Happy Valentines!

Maylee had her first Valentine's Day!  On Friday, my dad and mom were so nice and volunteered to watch all the grandkids so we could go out for a night on the town!  The kids made valentine frames with my mom and played the Wii.  Maylee was in heaven playing with her cousins.  She loves parties!  I guess she put up quite a fight while my mom was trying to get her to go to sleep... she doesn't want to miss any action!  April, Rob, Jeff and I went out to dinner at Firebirds (the nicest restaurant we have been to for a really long time due to our little lady!) and then to the movies. It was a great night.  On Saturday, I attempted to make a "fancy" homemade dinner.  I made chicken marsala, roasted asparagus, baked pototoes, and then made chocolate strawberry cakes for dessert.  I had to take a picture of the strawberry cakes because I think they are the fanciest looking things I have ever made.  But next time I will use a cake mix to make the cupcake bottom!

Ready, Set, Race!

Feb. 7th was the Sedona marathon, 1/2 marathon, and 5k race.  We had a great time!  My whole family came as well as Bary and Kim.  Jeff and Rob ran in the 1/2 marathon and Bary and I ran in the 5K.  It was a beautiful course, although it didn't seem to have any flat parts!  It was fun watching Jeff and Rob run for the finish line.  They did a great job and made it under 2 hours with a few minutes to spare!

Funny story: Bary had his watch on for the race so he kept track of our time.  They posted the 5K results while we were waiting for Jeff and Rob to come in but there was a long line and since we already knew our time, we left. When we got home that night we checked our results online. We both came in 5th place for our age groups and could have gotten a trophy!  We were a little shocked since we didn't think our time was that great, but happy nonetheless.

Utah Trip

First airplane ride!

             Her first set of wings... She earned them.  She was great on the plane.

Jeff went up to Utah for a week with work , so I decided to tag along with him.  We had a lot of fun.  I wandered around downtown while he worked (unfair, I know).  It was a different experience getting on and off the Trax with a baby and stroller but it sure was nice to get around without needing a car.  We went to Temple Square and the Gateway.  Over the weekend we saw grandparents.  I am so happy that we were able to get 4 generation pics with the grandparents. Maylee also got to see snow for the first time... she was quite intrigued.  All I can say is, "Sign me up for the next work trip!" :-)