{This little girl warms my heart}
Those cheeks are all mine!
Thanks to our friend Aly, we got some great pictures of Zoe this morning. We went to Old town Fair Oaks and she chased the chickens. Aly got great pictures even though Zoe didn't last more than 30 minutes, before she needed to go home for a nap.
Too bad Aly lives in Idaho, but if you're in Idaho and need an awesome photographer, Aly is your girl!
Unfortunately, this is also the day we started to get sick, so I had to miss the Stauffer's Christmas Party. Ryan & Zoe went without me. Ryan said the food was awesome.
{ it always is}
But Jamie gave me the sweetest poem and I wanted to share it.
The Christmas Towel
At first glance, it is easy to look at a towel as a most ordinary object. Have you ever stopped to think that for thousands of years the towel has been used for many wonderful purposes? For example, the mother who wipes the tears of a child to sooth an emotional or physical hurt; the physician who binds the wounds of a bleeding patient; or the woman in her home wiping her hands as she moves from task to task. Perhaps the most significant use of the towel happened nearly two thousand years ago when our Savior, only hours before he hung on the cross, took an ordinary towel in His loving hands and dried the feet of His disciples. This simple, loving act personifies the selflessness and loving service we seek to give during our lives. It illustrates that an ordinary thing like a towel, in the right hands, and with a giving heart, can lighten another's load. As with every action performed by the Savior on this earth, His act of service reminds us that simple day-to-day kindnesses are the Savior's way to bless and comfort. This towel is given with love, and with the hope you will do works of goodness with it as the Savior did so many years ago.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
Zoe's last day of Daycare before Christmas.
They made these cute ornaments out of cinnamon applesauce playdoh, it smelled the best.
Ryan is finishing up finals tonight so Zoe and I are staying out of the way.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
Zoe's Christmas Dress
Ryan is busy taking finals tonight so Zoe and I went to run some errands. Ever since I saw this dress I knew I wanted it to be Zoe's Christmas dress. I added the red ribbon and I will be making a matching bow or headband, I haven't decided yet.
Like I've said before, I usually sing to Zoe on the way home. She has started to request songs on the way home. I love it. She can sing," Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree," And ," The itsy bitsy spider." She does the hand actions too. I got her on video doing the itsy bitsy spider but you can only see one of her hands so I'll try again soon.
Ryan's family is coming into town this week, so we've been practicing names, Zoe is excited to see her cousins and aunt and uncles!
We're hoping to go shopping for ornaments tomorrow.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
After several weeks of no inspiration, I was finally able to scrapbook.
Tonight was our annual ward Christmas party. It started off rough with some miss-communication with another ward, but thanks to my committee and dear friends, the Stauffers, it came together nicely.
Zoe and Santa
Zoe decorating cookies.
Dad and Zoe decorating cookies.
Last night we were able to finally get out of the house all together. We went to Red Robin for dinner. Zoe got a balloon when we left. It only lasted 10 minutes after we got home, because she and Campbell were playing with it. Luckily, she didn't throw a fit when it popped. Here's cute picture I snagged of her before it popped.
We attempted to make a gingerbread house with Zoe but she was too tired and wasn't grasping the concept. So we put her to bed and Ryan and I put it together.
We attempted to make a gingerbread house with Zoe but she was too tired and wasn't grasping the concept. So we put her to bed and Ryan and I put it together.
Ta-Dah!
This is the first time I used the self-timer on the camera. It took a few tries, but it worked well.
This is the first time I used the self-timer on the camera. It took a few tries, but it worked well.
XOXO,
Holly & CO.
So I missed yesterday. bombed. there was nothing going on Christmas-y, Ryan and I were both tired and I was stressed. so December 10 got skipped.
Ok so I didn't really take this picture, but...Have you seen this? So adorable! I watched it with Zoe on Hulu tonight.
Today was the White Elephant/Potluck Extravaganza! I had 2 different potlucks at work. The first I made the gift tags for, I ended up back with the gift tags. The second, was a bigger one. I arrived a little late, but ended up being first to choose for the white elephant gift exchange. The first gift I opened was a singing gorilla, than it was stolen, so onto the leopard print Santa hat, stolen. The EDS book, stolen. and finally I got a cute little reindeer advent holder.
I don't have a radio or a CD player in my car, so on the drive home I usually sing to Zoe, but today I sang Christmas carols to myself, I was surprised by how many I remembered the words to. I think "Away in a Manger" is my new favorite, the second verse especially. I just love Christmas time!
XOXO,
Holly & CO.
mmm...comfort food.
I had a rough day today, so Ryan made dinner. Homemade pizza and orange juice. Weird combination, I know, but whenever we had pizza as a kid my Mom used to serve it with orange juice...ya know, for the vitamins :)
I have 2 potlucks at work tomorrow, along with white elephant gift exchanges so I made some gift tags as my white elephant gift. I made them using my new Cricut and Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly line.
And, I could really use some, so hopefully no one wants them and I can steal them away:)
XOXO,
Holly & CO.
:::Insert picture of snow at my apartment, which mysteriously disappeared off my camera:::
"Snow, snow, everywhere snow!"
"Snow, snow, everywhere snow!"
Few will understand that quote, as it is a Morgan family inside joke, but it brought me to out loud laughing today when I thought about it.
It snowed this morning. Yes, there was snow on the ground at my apartment in California. I too am shocked. But thrilled!
Back to the inside joke thing. We all tell stories throughout our lives, bad dates, other people's embarrassing moments which you were privilaged to witness, etc etc. Something we've talked about in our family when we tell these stories, is I wonder if I am the funny story that people tell at parties and get-togethers. It's inevitable that someone, somewhere has told a story at my expense, and I sure hope it brings their family or friends as much entertainment as the stories have done in my family. This is one thing I love about my family. When we're all together playing games or staying up late chatting, these stories seem to come out and put us all in fits of laughter.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
Today we made sugar cookies, and they were as delicious as I remember.
We had a lovely time at church today. Zoe is officially in nursery now, so Ryan and I got to enjoy our meetings without her interruption.
Ryan made hamburgers for dinner and the missionaries joined us. Zoe warmed right up to the Elders and was enjoying showing them all her books and stuffed animals.
Here's the recipe for the sugar cookies.
This is a little treasure Zoe and I picked up tonight.
There is another one that says "Carrots for Reindeer" I think I'll have to go back and get that one too.
Today has been a busy day. Ryan got up bright and early to help the scouts pass out fliers for Christmas tree pick-up. Zoe and I hung out in Pjs until he got home. We all went out to Roseville for lunch at our favorite place, Noodles. A few errands + a nap brought us to dinner. And now it's time to make cookie dough for tomorrow. Can you guess what tomorrow's picture will be?
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
"You're a mean one...Mr. Grinch"
Ah, classic Christmas. Tonight we watched "How the Grinch stole Christmas" with the Stauffers.
I snapped this picture of E & Z eating kettle corn while watching.
Zoe enjoyed watching Max the Dog and the Who's singing.
I'm really enjoying capturing little moments every day. I can't wait for them to get printed and to put them in a mini book.
I snapped this picture of E & Z eating kettle corn while watching.
Zoe enjoyed watching Max the Dog and the Who's singing.
I'm really enjoying capturing little moments every day. I can't wait for them to get printed and to put them in a mini book.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
A little treat for me.
Ginger thins & Cranberry Splash Sierra Mist....mmm.
Tonight was our Ward Relief Society Christmas Party. Lots of yummy food and singing.
Not much else to say as I am tired and feel a cold coming on...Good night...back tomorrow.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
December 2: We went to go pick out our tree tonight. Zoe ate dinner on the go.
We had to stop at Target to get lights and a tree stand. And Caramel Apple Cider to keep us warm.
We attempted to take a family picture, but got just me and Ryan instead.
Zoe wandered around looking for the perfect tree.
Zoe wandered around looking for the perfect tree.
The final result.
Right now we only have lights and bows on right now.
We'll save ornaments for another night.
I'm currently making several pans of lemon bars for our Relief Society Christmas Party tomorrow. 7pm. Don't be late.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
This year I've really tried to take more pictures, especially of Zoe doing every day things. I've caught some great moments and hope to continue to use my camera more and more. (Reading the manual and learning about all the settings helps a LOT!)
Isn't it pretty? This was my Big Black Friday score! We were waiting and waiting for it to be available online the night before but nothing happened, so we went to bed. Zoe woke me up at 2am, so after I got her back down, I decided to check if it was available, just in case. And it was! 3 or 4 clicks and it was mine. No standing in the cold, no long lines, no biting, fighting or scrambling.
Onto Dec. 2nd.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
This year I decided to do a project inspired by Ali Edwards called December Daily. Basically, to document all the happenings throughout the holiday season. Ideally, I will advance to something more prestigious, like project 365, but for now, I'm just attempting one month at a time.
Yesterday, was December 1st, but it was also a crazy evening. I didn't get home to relax until after 8pm. I had grand plans to have Zoe start her advent calendar and take pictures of her opening the little box and eating the chocolate figurine, with our Christmas scented candle in the background....but life happens and Zoe was in bed by the time I got home. I decided we'll save the advent calendar picture for another day and took a picture of my Christmas present from my parents that arrived yesterday. Thanks Mom & Dad!
For those of you who don't scrapbook, it's a Cricut machine, which is an electronic die cutter. (Basically, it will cut endless letters and shapes, at any size or on any paper I want) You can look it up on YouTube and watch it at work.
I barely had time to play with it, but am hoping after all the parties die down in the next couple weeks, I'll get to put it to good use.
We're Back!
And I forgot our camera when we left for Utah, so we didn't take many pictures. Hopefully we'll get some from relatives soon.
So back to the trip re-cap. Unfortunately, a violent stomach bug held a dark cloud over the trip. It started with me and bounced through my whole family, and is on to my extended family. (Sorry guys!)
But we still managed to have a good time anyway.
We did some shopping at the outlets.
We got to see extended family from both sides.
We ate a lot.
We met Gary.
We played games. (although not as many as I would have liked)
We visited Gardener Mill.
We had lots of pie.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.
Zoe played with cousins.
Zoe learned to ride the rocking horse all by herself.
We scored BIG on Black Friday.
Ryan attended the "Holy War" (BYU vs. U of U game)
We watched the snow fall.
We laughed.
Overall it was a great trip. My parents new house is Highland has a great view of the mountains. It was lovely to wake up to that landscape every morning. We got to see antelope run through the backyard, too. Zoe got to see horses outside every day.
We're glad to be home though. My package from Studio Calico came and I just held all the pretty stuff. I can't wait to use it.
Thanks to my in-laws for babysitting Campbell, she's a handful, I really appreciate it.
As tomorrow starts December, I'm hoping to get up some Christmas decorations tonight and get our tree up before the weekend. I have high hopes for my decorating this year as well as family pictures. I have Zoe's Christmas dress picked out already, now I just need a matching tie for Ryan and we're golden. We haven't ever sent out Christmas cards, but maybe I'll get to it this year.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
And I forgot our camera when we left for Utah, so we didn't take many pictures. Hopefully we'll get some from relatives soon.
So back to the trip re-cap. Unfortunately, a violent stomach bug held a dark cloud over the trip. It started with me and bounced through my whole family, and is on to my extended family. (Sorry guys!)
But we still managed to have a good time anyway.
We did some shopping at the outlets.
We got to see extended family from both sides.
We ate a lot.
We met Gary.
We played games. (although not as many as I would have liked)
We visited Gardener Mill.
We had lots of pie.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.
Zoe played with cousins.
Zoe learned to ride the rocking horse all by herself.
We scored BIG on Black Friday.
Ryan attended the "Holy War" (BYU vs. U of U game)
We watched the snow fall.
We laughed.
Overall it was a great trip. My parents new house is Highland has a great view of the mountains. It was lovely to wake up to that landscape every morning. We got to see antelope run through the backyard, too. Zoe got to see horses outside every day.
We're glad to be home though. My package from Studio Calico came and I just held all the pretty stuff. I can't wait to use it.
Thanks to my in-laws for babysitting Campbell, she's a handful, I really appreciate it.
As tomorrow starts December, I'm hoping to get up some Christmas decorations tonight and get our tree up before the weekend. I have high hopes for my decorating this year as well as family pictures. I have Zoe's Christmas dress picked out already, now I just need a matching tie for Ryan and we're golden. We haven't ever sent out Christmas cards, but maybe I'll get to it this year.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
Today I am a winner. I won the entire Home Front scrapbooking line from Studio Calico. I was welcome into Wednesday with that awesome news!
Unfortunately, it will arrive while we are in Utah, so I'll have to wait until I get home to play with it.
Zoe went to the Dr. today. She got 2 shots, but her ears are clear and she is doing much better. I'm really grateful that her ears are better, considering we are going to be on a plane this weekend.
Since it doesn't get very cold here but we are travelling to Utah, we got Zoe some winter clothes. This is my most favorite item of clothing she currently owns. I made her wear it this morning just so I could take a picture. It has matching mittens :)
well my to-do list is calling....
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
Unfortunately, it will arrive while we are in Utah, so I'll have to wait until I get home to play with it.
Zoe went to the Dr. today. She got 2 shots, but her ears are clear and she is doing much better. I'm really grateful that her ears are better, considering we are going to be on a plane this weekend.
Since it doesn't get very cold here but we are travelling to Utah, we got Zoe some winter clothes. This is my most favorite item of clothing she currently owns. I made her wear it this morning just so I could take a picture. It has matching mittens :)
well my to-do list is calling....
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
So here we are finally coming out of the cave.
Zoe has been sick the past few days, and I mean sick. She had the flu and now she has an ear infection. I think we're up to 4 in the past 5 months. Her Dr. says if she has 8 in a year we'll need to look into getting her tubes. We're hoping that won't be the route we have to go.Before she got sick, Ryan made some snickerdoodles and Zoe got to lick her first beater.
Ryan and I got a chance to sneak away and do some Christmas shopping. Here's a sneak at some of Zoe's presents...
This is a shirt that we got for Zoe and I just fell in love with the design. I want to make Christmas cards out of this. I just love it!We're all a little tired, a little cranky and ready for our holiday break next week. Utah here we come! I'm so excited to see snow again. I'm hoping to get some cute pictures of Zoe playing in the snow. Lots of food, fun, and family! Hooray!
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
As a result of some yucky diapers yesterday, Zoe took several baths yesterday.But at least I got some cute tub pictures of her...
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
#16 showed it's face today. Now Zoe officially has a full mouth of teeth. Nights without the binky are going well, occasionally she wakes up, but she takes all her naps without it no problem. She's been starting to feed herself with utensils and here's how well she did with yogurt this morning.
A few weeks back we were at the Humbert's house and I saw this beautiful desk by the front door. Grandma Julie mentioned they were getting rid of it and I feel in love. We spent the majority of the day today rearranging the desks and my scrapbooking stuff to all fit in this desk. It has all sort of drawers and slots and it fits my green cutting mat perfectly! (Can you tell I just love this??!)
This evening we were all getting a little stir crazy, so we took a little trip to Coldstone for a treat. OH my goodness. They have a bunch of new holiday flavors. WE got the following concoction and I would totally recommend it. 2 scoops Pumpkin ice cream + 1 scoop cinnamon ice cream + graham cracker pie crust = holiday heaven! We also went to Barnes and Noble, and walked around looking for some new books for Zoe. She/We are ready for some new books in the rotation so we took a look. I'm thinking she'll be getting some new Dr. Suess books for Christmas.I am working on some Christmas presents this weekend, trying to get them ready before Thanksgiving, since we'll be out of town. And when we get back, it will be a whirlwind, and then it will be Christmas eve, so I'm trying to get it all done now. So far, so good.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
The other day we were looking through one of Zoe's books about pets and she pointed and said "Turtle," and she was right! It's amazing how much more she says now that she's rid (mostly) of that binky.
The weather here has been so warm. I'm just dying for some rain or snow or even fog. It's supposed to get colder this weekend, but I doubt it's going to be coat weather :( I'm really loving the whole plaid trend right now. I know it's a little mountain man, but its so soft and comfy.
Ok, sorry about babbling. Here's some scrap pages I've been working on, featuring Z's bff E.
I'm hoping to finish up a cool sewing project, with pattern in the next week. For all of you moms who need a bigger bag...this is the bag for you.
Hopefully we'll be enjoying cooler weather this weekend, which will result in a lot of comfort food and snuggles.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
The weather here has been so warm. I'm just dying for some rain or snow or even fog. It's supposed to get colder this weekend, but I doubt it's going to be coat weather :( I'm really loving the whole plaid trend right now. I know it's a little mountain man, but its so soft and comfy.
Ok, sorry about babbling. Here's some scrap pages I've been working on, featuring Z's bff E.
I'm hoping to finish up a cool sewing project, with pattern in the next week. For all of you moms who need a bigger bag...this is the bag for you.Hopefully we'll be enjoying cooler weather this weekend, which will result in a lot of comfort food and snuggles.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
I am so excited this morning!!!
As Zoe has been getting her last couple of teeth, her dependence on her binky has become worse and so had her attitude. So we've been trying to get rid of the binky to hopefully cure that. Slowly and slowly we've been trying to hide it more. I even cut one up on front of her and said "broken" That worked for a little while. Well, yesterday she went ALL day without it at daycare. Then when we came home, she didn't even ask for it....Then bedtime came.....
And she didn't ask for it! I got nervous, but I laid her down in bed and read her a story and sang her a song, preparing for a meltdown when I shut the down. But it didn't come. Sure, a little crying but not the monsoon that I was expecting.
She woke up a few times in the next couple hours, so I went in, laid her back down, sang her songs and put her back to bed. I was anticipating this would go on all night.....not so.
After 9pm, she slept ALL night without her BINKY!!!! I am so happy that I not only got a full night's sleep, but that so did she. I'm thinking it might take a few nights of the ups and downs for the first few hours but now I am fully confident that she doesn't need her binky.
I'm going to take a couple pictures for her scrapbook and then throw all the binkies away.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
As Zoe has been getting her last couple of teeth, her dependence on her binky has become worse and so had her attitude. So we've been trying to get rid of the binky to hopefully cure that. Slowly and slowly we've been trying to hide it more. I even cut one up on front of her and said "broken" That worked for a little while. Well, yesterday she went ALL day without it at daycare. Then when we came home, she didn't even ask for it....Then bedtime came.....
And she didn't ask for it! I got nervous, but I laid her down in bed and read her a story and sang her a song, preparing for a meltdown when I shut the down. But it didn't come. Sure, a little crying but not the monsoon that I was expecting.
She woke up a few times in the next couple hours, so I went in, laid her back down, sang her songs and put her back to bed. I was anticipating this would go on all night.....not so.
After 9pm, she slept ALL night without her BINKY!!!! I am so happy that I not only got a full night's sleep, but that so did she. I'm thinking it might take a few nights of the ups and downs for the first few hours but now I am fully confident that she doesn't need her binky.
I'm going to take a couple pictures for her scrapbook and then throw all the binkies away.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
Zoe turns 17 months this week, so we got to start visiting nursery.She did surprisingly well, we probably could have snuck out and she would have been fine. She even sat at the table most of the lesson and colored a picture. It was a positive experience and we're hopeful that after a few more weeks, she'll have no problem transitioning.
Our Ward Halloween Party was last night. It went smoothly and I was home by 8:15. We didn't dress Zoe up, she was too cranky and tired, but there were so many great costumes.
We also celebrated Grandpa Humbert's birthday with a yummy dinner at Buca di Beppo before the ward party.
Wow, we've been so busy this week it's been hard to keep up.
XOXO,
Holly & Co.
