Baby Cash is here!

Well we couldn't be more thrilled by the arrival of baby Cash Colby Miller. I'm sure if you don't know Meg and Colby personally you feel like you do, due to my blog (to say that we love them is an understatement.) Anyways Colby and Meg have waited a long time to become parents, and it has been a very bumpy and trying road...but their little guy is finally here and we couldn't be more excited for them!

Cash was born Tuesday January 25th 1:17 pm he weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 191/2 inches long. He did have some complications due to fluid in his lungs and underdeveloped lungs as well, so he is in the NICU at the IMC. But he is in great hands and has been getting better each day. He is a little trooper for sure.

Anyways we are so excited that Cash is here and we love him already!

Doesn't she look like a natural!

I couldn't believe all the things that Cash is hooked up to...it looks like a launching station I kept waiting for it to start counting down to blast off (ha ha ha!)

The Miller Family!

WinterPalooza

So last weekend a friend of mine had a booth at the Kids Club winterpalooza, so we got tickets and decided to take the kids. Let's just say it was a KIDS HEAVEN! There were over 20 bounce houses, a petting zoo, laser tag, rock climbing wall, princess carriages, and even little princess make-overs. Lydia was a little overwhelmed on the bounce houses with all the kids but Luckily our friends cute daughter Kaylee took over and took care of Lydia. Anyways it was a great little Saturday activity. We only wish we could've stayed longer, we were told our new couches would be at our house at 2, they didn't end up coming until 8:00 pm that night. Needless to say we were a bit frustrated, but it was all worth it in the end...we now have somewhere to sit (ha ha ha!)

Also I had to put a picture of Audrey in her bounce/saucer...she loves that thing! Gotta say I love seeing how excited she get's when I put her in there. Also She finally decided to roll over yesterday (1/28/11) Just making sure I have it on the blog some where for prosperity purposes!) Chris thought I was joking because after she did it I texted him that I wish I had a phone with a video camera (like my old one) so I could actually show him. He thought I was just trying to get a new phone, when in all reality I was being serious (ha ha ha!)

Kaylee reassuring Lydia that she would watch out for her (ha ha ha!)

SO MUCH FUN!

Love this little girl, also Audrey was a perfect angel as usual...she slept the entire time (ha ha ha!)

Kaylee and Amelia, Kaylee is obsessed with all things Spiderman (can you tell my her socks, she is such a tom boy but who are we kidding she is seriously so stinking sweet!

Lydia was in HEAVEN with all the bounce houses everywhere!

wwwwwweeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

Lydia got her hair and nails done...she was definitely pampered like a princess!

She told the stylist that she wanted her hair to look like Rapunzel (sp) the girl was cute and did a darling up do, I think she looks more like Cindy Lou Whoo!

You may as well just split my heart!

Ok I am going to do some major VENTING here so please don't feel like you have to read this #1 and also please realize that most likely the way I am feeling right now will change within the next couple of months (that is what I keep telling myself to keep myself sane.)

So a couple of weeks ago they announced in Church that there was going to be a ward reorganizing fireside. Since our ward split a little over a year ago and we seemed to be a pretty good size I couldn't help but think oh maybe we will take in the "Wright Homes" Which is a sub-division right next to ours. I wasn't too worried and there had been very little talk about anything happening (where as when our ward split before it had been all anyone talked about for months prior.)

We missed the fireside because we were driving home from Vegas but I had a few of my friends texting me what was happening. When my friend Jeni texted me that our street was no longer in the Rose Creek Crossing ward and that we would be apart of a new ward I didn't believe her. Then I got the same text from my friend Becki, now both Chris and I were FREAKING out...to put it mildly. Through texts I found out literally our street and one other from our entire neighborhood were put in with the new ward. My heart sank. For the first time in my married life I loved a ward. I could honestly say I loved everyone in it, I loved knowing my neighbors and feeling like Lydia had cute friends and she adored Nursery and her nursery teachers. To say the least I was HEART BROKEN. I seriously couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to feel like being the "new guys" in a ward where everyone else lived in the same neighborhood and had been in the same ward since they had lived in their neighborhoods, and then along came us... the "outcasts" as I always tell Chris we are (ha ha ha!)

Anyways I have had a flood of emotions over the past week. I saw the ward list and realized that I knew quite a few of the mom's who had daughter's at the studio which made me feel a little bit better until I talked to one of the mom's who made it clear she wasn't very excited about the split and how sad she was (yes I realize that they are sad too, which makes this split make even less sense.)

Then came the realization that I was released, I absolutely loved my calling. I will say that after I had Audrey it became more and more difficult for several reasons. Audrey stopped taking a bottle over the Christmas break (yes it is totally my fault and I am mad at myself for letting it happen.) So at Church Chris was stressed out, and so was I that she would get hungry and I would have to disrupt singing time (which I know isn't that big of a deal but it was constantly on my mind) I also loved my calling because I felt like I knew almost all the kids and all the families and who are we kidding I love the pianist, we have become very good friends due to having our callings together. Anyways when I realized I was released I saw it as an opportunity to possibly get to know some of the new people that we would be in a ward with, and a chance to take some stress off of both Chris and I at church as far as feeding Audrey goes.

Well to say the least I got a new calling I am the 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency. WWWWHHHHHHAAAATTTT!!!!!!!!! Who are we kidding I'm not qualified for that, I feel so in adequate and just hope that I can truly fulfill this calling. I am excited to be serving with the ladies in the new ward but truly miss the old presidency and my old friends so much.

Also on a side note Lydia HATED nursery, which has never happened in the 18 months she has been in there. #1 she was by far the oldest kid in there, #2 Chris walked in and some kid was totally picking on her, #3 she didn't know ANYONE....yes I am becoming that parents that I just want to protect her. I got home and I bawled more for her then for me. I can not stand seeing my child unhappy. Yes I know it will get better, Yes I will request to have her put in one of the other nursery's with older kids, Yes it will be good for Lydia to learn to defend herself a little (at least that's what Chris tells me) But who are we kidding I am a girl and I am still sad about it.

Anyways overall I know that everything is going to be ok. I really like our new bishop, and brother Neidert from our old ward is the 2nd counselor which is nice to see a familiar face up on the stand. I also feel a much deeper connection with the people on my street who are going through something very similar (I bet they are being much more mature than me though, and taking it in stride...yes I am a total baby) I actually felt very proud to hear the callings that the Chatel folks got, and to see how amazing the people we live by really are! I am also hoping that I will be able to make new friendships, I am going to try my hardest to stay positive. But also to all my friends in the Rose Creek Crossing ward...DON"T FORGET ABOUT US! We still want to be friends with all of you, and maybe it will be like Chris said, now that we don't have the excuse "Oh we will see them at church." Maybe we will make a better effort to plan things with our neighbors out side of church.

So anyways if you read this please know it is a vent, something I needed to get out and then get over because who are we kidding I know everything is going to be ok...it is just going to take time, and a positive attitude.

Courtesy Cone

So the last night we went out with some friends in our neighborhood (I'm saying that because I am still so sad that our ward got split and we are in a new ward while the rest of our neighborhood is still in our old ward...it sucks) anyways we went to dinner and then to Arctic Circle afterward so the kids could play at the play place while we talked.

I didn't realize that Arctic Circle gives away courtesy cones. Their daughter Amelia (who is a year older than Lydia) took Lydia up to the front and got them both cherry dipped courtesy cones, I was cracking up just seeing the two little girls up at the front peeking from below the counter. When they came running back I could just see how excited Lydia was, I got an ice cream cone without mom! So they ate the cherry part and played a little longer, then they decided to go and get another one. Lydia yet again was so excited this time she decided it was for real. She ate the cherry dipped part handed the rest of her cone to Chris and RAN to the front. If you know Lydia you know she is a little shy around people she doesn't know very well, so we are all watching her just stand at the front not saying anything. She was just waiting as usual for her magic cherry dipped cone to appear.

Well Chris decided that she needed to finish her other cone so he went and grabbed her, as he walked her back her bottom lip started to quiver and she just dropped her little head into her hands. Instantly she had a total break down. This may not sound as funny or cute as it really was but I gotta say it was hilarious.

All I could think is I'm sure she was so excited to get the cone all by herself, then she didn't dare to talk and just expected the cone to appear, and then daddy wouldn't let her. Anyways this was one of those moments that I always want to remember (hence putting it in here, so I don't forget!)

Anyways love that little girl!

68 degrees never felt so good!

Well Jared and Stacey called Chris on Wednesday and invited us to Vegas for the weekend. After very little debate we decided anything was better than being stuck in the cold and inversion, so we decided to take them up on their offer!

P.S. I have more pictures coming, for some reason every time I try to upload them the internet disconnects
P.S.S. For some reason my pictures wouldn't turn, so thats why a few are the wrong way.

The Drive Down:Well it just so happened that it had been raining and since it hadn't gotten above freezing in weeks the rain literally hit the roads and turned to ice. Needless to say it was somewhat of a treterous drive down. We counted 12 accidents between Orem and Spanish Fork. We hit black ice at one point and almost hit a semi...needless to say we were white knuckles the rest of the drive down. Even though once we got past santa quin the roads were fine, we were still so nervous so once we hit Cedar City we decided to stop and stay at a hotel. We left Salt lake at about 9:00 pm so we had really good intentions of driving through the night so our kids would sleep but it was nice to drive the rest of the way during the day!

Shopping: Who are we kidding it is a good thing that I don't live in Vegas because I LOVE the shopping there. We hit the outlets on our way in and let's just say I have a love/hate relationship witht he GAP outlet but it was definitely a great day, they had such good stuff and who are we kidding it was so nice to be out in the sun. We also hit H&M the next day and a few other shops at Town Square. H&M was ok for me but the kids section was the BEST, I wish they had one here for the kids clothes alone (Ha ha ha) We also went to Costco. Jared and Stacey needed to get a few things and my family has Costco running though our veins so any time we go out of the valley and their is a Costco it is like we have to go and see if there is anything new (it is pathetic, but we love it!) Anyways it was fun to see some of the differences, and who are we kidding I haven't seen that much alcohol in my life...you could tell we weren't in SLC anymore!

Accomodations: Jared and Stacey are always so nice to invite us and let us stay with them. They have the perfect set up to have guests come and stay. We had the whole upstairs to ourselves and they were even nice enough to let us use Carter's crib and monitor while we were there...it was so nice. They have such a beautiful home and in such a nice neighborhood, we love staying there.

THE WeATHer: Oh my goodness can I just say I could move to Vegas for the weather alone (I would have to live where I didn't have access to shopping though, ha ha ha) After we hit the outlets we got the Jared and Stacey's house and once we got settled in Stea and I went for a run. It was so much fun and so nice to run outside, I haven't run outside forever and with the nice weather we ran again on Saturday morning. Not going to lie Loved it.

Recreation: Chris and Jared decided to go long boarding, it was like back in the day. It was so funny seeing them roll up to the park on their long boards. Also who are we kidding the parks are amazing, and there are so many. We went to a park on Saturday that was the bomb, Lydia was in HEAVEN!!! Also at Town Square they had this darling little kids play place that was darling. Lydia loved it, there were slides, little houses, a maze, a stage and so much more. Needless to say it was beautiful weather which made hanging around watching her that much more enjoyable!

Cousins: It was so much fun spending time with Carter, and I also think Lydia has a new best friend "BOOKER" their dog. They were inseperable the entire time, and even though I'm sure Booker was tired of Lydia trying to boss him around she has blessed him in her prayers every night ever since (ha ha ha!) Carter is such a cutie, it is so much fun knowing that him and Audrey and (Hawk) are going to be best buds, and so close in age. We got some pictures of the kids together and we laughed thinking one day we would look at these pics and think "AAAWWWW I can't believe how little you were!"

The Strip: One of the selling points on going to Vegas was we told Lydia we could go and see the Lions. She was so excited and on the drive out we stopped at MGM and saw the lions. It was pretty cool there was a bridge so you could literally stand underneath them and take pictures. They were sleeping almost the entire time thought so it wasn't super exciting but Lydia LOVED it. She also got to see "Fiona's Castle" (i.e. The excalibur") And the Statue of Liberty that Gru stole on "Despicable Me" She was pretty excited.

Overall: It was a great trip, so nice to get away, out of the cold and spend time with family. We always feel so welcomed and wish we did it more often. Thansk Jar and Stae, we will definitely need to come down more often!

Yes I'm a dork and I took a picture of the Costco...ha ha ha!

They are 11 days apart!

Cousins

Lydia and Booker

Stae and Carter ...love that huge smile!

Viva las Vegas

You can see the lions in the upper right corner.

Below the lions...or as Lydia called them Mufasa and Simba

SOLD!

Well we decided to finally sell our couches. I have loved these couches, they were the first piece of furniture that we actually bought, and we were lucky enough that Chris' cousin Andrew is a very talented craftsman and he actually built our couches! As much as I have loved them with our lovely children and their amazing projectile spit up it was time to make a change.

So I put our couches on KSL on a whim Saturday night and sold them that night (ha ha ha!) The funniest thing was when the people came to get them. They drove down from Syrracuse and brought their mini van, the first round they got the ottoman, 1 small section, the coushins and the pillows. Second round they got the other 4 large pieces of the couch. It took like two hours and it was like playing real life tetras (sp) Convienletly Chris wasn't home to help so it was me and this guy and sadly our driveway was especially snowy and the poory guys slipped and literally slid under his car.

Anyways I was a bit sad seeing them drive away with our couch, and even more sad when I realized that we had nothing to replace it with . So for the past week we have been couchless and living on lawn chairs...not too comfortable when it comes to nursing (ha ha ha!)

Then
Now...notice Lydia even has her own chair (ha ha ha!)

3 Months!

Well as of last week Audrey is officially 3 MONTHS!!! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. Audrey is such a little angel, there is really no other way to describe her.

She has started to get on a really good schedule which makes things a lot easier. She is usually in bed about 9:00-9:30pm and she wakes up about 6:30-7:00 then right back to bed until about 8:30-9:00 am to say the least it is nice to get some good sleep (now I just need to go to bed earlier myself...ha ha ha!) She loves her naps and will nap just about anywhere, she is really good on the go and actually is very content in her car seat!

Audrey LOVES her front pack, I have started to put her in it while I cook and clean and she is just so happy and content to see everything that is going on. She also loves her little mobile, she has started to grab at things and she gets so excited when she actually gets some of them!

Auds is still such a good eater and it shows, she is so stinking cute and gets chubbier by the day. I love her little chubby cheeks. I do feel bad though I wasn't very good about having her drink from a bottle over the Christmas break and I think I have officially ruined her. She won't take a bottle any more, which makes working and leaving her with someone a little stressful.

Audrey loves her sister, any time Lydia is around she has a huge smile on her face. That is one thing that isn't hard to find from Audrey she is so smiley and giggly it makes being her mommy that much more fun! Overall I feel so blessed to have little Auds in our home, she is such a sweet baby girl and we Love, Love, Love her!

Audrey Lynn's Blessing!

We had Audrey's blessing today and who are we kidding what an amazing day. We are so blessed to have such amazing families and such great friends who are so supportive. It truly was such a special day. We had 9:00 am church and we made it to church early (which is a miracle in itself.) Chris did an amazing job, and the blessing definitely brought me to tears. It was so amazing to see 9 priesthood holders surrounding our daughter. During fast and testimony meeting it was pretty quiet from our ward so it gave our family a chance to bear their testimonies. Me, Chris, Clint, Raini, Grandpa White and Robin all bore our testimonies and then I had to give the closing prayer (it was nerve wracking...ha ha ha!)
Then we all went back to our house for some yummy stuffed french croissants, hash browns, scrambled eggs, fruit, chocolate chip muffins and sugar cookies! The food was pretty yummy if i say so myself. It was nice to visit with family and to have Colby and Meg there (They are practically family!) It was a great day, and so sweet to bless our darling little Audrey!
We love you so much Audrey and can't wait to see you live up to the blessing your received.




WE ARE FAMILY!

Auds and Grandma Knudsen

My best friend Meg...she is due in a couple of weeks and we CAN NOT wait to meet little Cash! We got to see their Fetal Fotos of him and who are we kidding we are definitely dubsing him for Audrey in the future (ha ha ha!0

Lydia and her two favorite people (Bode and Raini) making the most of their time together!

I took a ton of pics of her in her dress...yes I am a doting mother

Gotta love that smile!

Sisters

Lydia loves her little sister

I am absolutely obsessed with this little girl...I really can't get enough of her!

The Knudsen Girls...we are the minority in the knudsen family (ha ha ha!)

Christmas 2010

Well this was such a fun Christmas to say the least. Lydia really started to get Christmas this year, I wouldn't say that she totally got it but she really liked Simon the elf and she loved saying "Merry Christmas" she is still saying it and not going to lie it cracks me up.

Anyways this was the first Christmas since Chris and I have been married that we stayed the night in our own house. We have usually stayed the night at my parents but with two kids this year we decided to stay home and my parents and tyler came over in the morning. My parents go Lydia a doll house for Christmas and Chris and I were up until 4 am putting it together, we knew we were in trouble when we opened it and there were 73 parts, it was worth the head ache and lack of sleep to see how excited she was on Christmas morning. Also a couple of days before Christmas we heard about this deal at R.C. Willey where if you spent over a certain amount you could buy this power wheels car for $30...so we were on the hunt in the end I bought a refrigerator for one of Chris friends so we could get the deal. As a kid I always wanted one of those, Lydia didn't love it quite as much as I had hoped, maybe in a couple of months she will warm up to it.
As a kid I always remember waking up at the crack of dawn, so excited to see all that waited for me under the Christmas tree. The way I know that Lydia doesn't quite get it all the way is we all slept in until about 10 am (Audrey included...love that baby!) When we got the call that my parents were on their way we went in to lay Lydia and Audrey down together so we could get the video camera ready to capture their excitement. Lydia sweetly asked "Where is Simon" which is the question we have heard every morning since Simon made his debut in our home. Then she also answered her own question "Simon is in the doll house!" Chris and I looked at each other and busted up laughing, we asked her how she knew and she said "I saw a car too!"
Needless to say Lydia had gone out to see all that Santa had brought her, then went back into her room so we never had any idea...that little girl cracks me up.
Overall it was such a fun Christmas, Lydia opened all or her and Audrey's presents so by the end she was a little tired of opening presents (does that actually happen?) We loved seeing her excited about her toys, and she has loved her doll house...it was definitely a hit. She also got a darling Tee-pee that Grandma Knudsen made for her, we set it up tonight and she LOVED it! To say the least we have two kids who are totally spoiled...or should I say were very good all year so Santa brought them a lot of great stuff this year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The stocking were hung by the "staircase" with car

Simon waiting in the doll house

Lydia and Audrey waiting for Nana and Grandpa to get here

My sweet girls in their Christmas jammies!

Daddy and baby Audrey

Uncle Tyler was a good sport and came out to watch Lydia open presents.

We think the reason Lydia hates the car is because a few weeks earlier Chris and my dad put Lydia on the bumper cars at jungle Jim's all by herself and to say the least it scared her half to death.

Audrey all tuckered out from all the Christmas excitement I'm sure...ha ha ha!

Lydia showing Nana her Belle Barbie...that Nana and grandpa got her

Lydia and Grandpa playing in the doll house

Justin and Lindsey make an incredible ginger bread house every year, and this year they let the kids destroy it...to say the least they had an absolute blast!

Daddy and Auds

Aunt Stacey and cute Carter

Another highlight this year was that we got to skype with Darin who is serving in Puerto Rico. It was so fun to actually be able to see him and not just hear him. He looks great and he is loving his mission. You can just tell that he is one amazing missionary. He was so surprised with all the changes in our family (i.e. 3 new nieces and nephews.) We love him so much and are so proud of him and we know that he is exactly where he is supposed to be right now!