Cuteness Factor? Off the Charts!

Seriously, could he be any cuter?!?

Joy.

I think I might be the luckiest person in the world.  Not only do I have a great husband who loves me, makes me laugh, and cleans the house (lucky me!), but I have the cutest kiddos in the whole world!  I have a pretty darn good life.  Here's some sweet pics of my sweet kids:

The other day, Halle convinced me to bring our extra TV up to her room to watch Hairspray.  Like always, she wanted Chase to be with her.  He actually stayed there with her for about 30 minutes.  (BTW, the TV has been taken out of her room.  I am not a proponent of electrical devices in a kid's room.)

I've been trying to do more fun things with Halle while Chase takes his afternoon nap.  She's been such a trooper sharing her time with the little one.  We made oatmeal cookies the other day.  Well, we made cookie dough, anyway.

Chase is hands-down the best baby.  He is happy all of the time and only wakes up one time during the night.  Now, if we could just get him to keep his food in his tummy.  I smell like spit-up all of the time!  It's a wonder they haven't made that fantastic scent into a perfume.  :)

Part of the 30%

For just a moment, I'm going to stray away from motherhood stories and jump on my soapbox.  Yesterday I watched President Bush's final press conference.  For 50 or so minutes he took questions about why he did this or that and, while he did admit mistakes had been made, he also defended himself and his policies.  While I haven't agreed with everything President Bush has done, I do believe that he made every decision in good faith.  I believe history will prove that he did what was right for our country.

I did not vote for Barack Obama, but I will support him.  I will not do to him what the extreme liberals did to President Bush.  Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox now.  Heavens knows it's not a popular place to be.

Back to the Basics

Ever since Chase was born, our lives have been a little chaotic.  Not only did we have the stress of having a newborn, but we also had Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, the ward Christmas party (which we were in charge of), Christmas, family parties, our anniversary, and Chase's blessing.  For a while, it felt like our lives were zipping by, and we could barely keep up!  While all of those activities were fun and memorable, it is kind of nice to just get back to basic life right now.  I usually hate the month of January because I think it's cold and boring, but this year, I'm appreciating the simplicity that comes with it.  So, for now, I'm grateful for the simple things in life: a happy family, a clean house, folded laundry, and comfy clothes!  After a couple months of chaos, it's nice to just sit back and enjoy the ride.  (Oh, and a new season of 24 started, so happy about that, too!)

And in other news, Chase went to his 2 month appointment.  He weighs 10 lbs. now.  He smiles and coos all of the time.  I may be prejudice, but I think that he's the cutest little guy around! (See photo above for proof.)

And in even more news, my little brother, Devin, got engaged last night.  I think he's going to get married sometime in June.  Congratulations, Devin and Megan!

6 Years, 2 Babies, 1 Great Life

Sam and I have been married for 6 years today.  In that time, we have had 2 children, moved 5 times, and changed jobs a few times.  The last 6 years have been wonderful, and I couldn't imagine being with anyone else.

Here's our story: Sam and I met buying BYU all-sport passes.  (If you know how much we love the Cougars, you would know how fitting this is.)  Since we both shared a love for anything BYU, we had an instant connection.  We also had a mutual friend, which allowed for us to get together later.  A week or so later, we went with friends to a movie, and from that point on we were together all the time.  We spent the next year doing our favorite things at BYU: attending games, going to the bookstore, hanging out at my apartment, and instant messaging at the SWKT.

We dated for a year and a few months and then we got engaged.  We were married on December 27, 2002 in the Manti Temple.  The day was perfect!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Christmas 2008

Whew!  Christmas came!  After telling Halle for days that she can't open any presents until Christmas, we were finally able to let her rip into them.  We celebrated Christmas at our house in the morning, then we went off to Sam's parents, and then to my parents in the afternoon.  It was the perfect day.  Halle loved every minute and we loved cuddling with Chase on his first Christmas.  

Pictures of our day:

Halle checking out her gifts from Santa.  She made out like a champ!  Santa brought Littlest Pet Shop hospital, Polly Pocket Mega Mall, Barbies, art supplies, movies, and other fun things.  Chase got a mobile for his crib, a new blankie, and baby toys.

Our sweet boy on his first Christmas.

Halle and Mikey ripping into a gift at Grandpa and Grandma Taylor's house.

Chase enjoying his new mobile.  He "coos" every time we turn this on.  It's so precious!

Halle checking out her new Kit doll from Grandma and Grandpa Burr.  I remember when I got my American Girl doll, and now my daughter has one of her own.  How time flies!  (Side note: If Kit goes missing, she may be found with me.  I like playing with her as much as Halle does!)

"Audrey, say cheese!"  Halle is getting a glimpse into how difficult it is to get kids to smile for the camera.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at Sam's parents house this year.  We enjoyed great food and great entertainment.  The kids put on the Nativity story and did a great job.  Halle played Mary, Mikey was Joseph, Lincoln filled in with whatever character was needed, and Chase was Baby Jesus.  Chase was the only one who didn't have a meltdown during the performance.  It was a great night!

Mikey as Joseph, Halle as Mary, and Chase as Baby Jesus.

Baby Chase in his new Christmas jammies