The Tillotsons

Ethan has Arrived!

2011-11-15T15:24:00.004-07:00

Ethan Mark Tillotson has arrived!

Born yesterday, Nov. 14th, 2:40pm

7 lbs. 11 oz.

19 1/2 inches

Here I am the day before I delivered at 39 weeks. I may not look huge but I sure felt giant.

The girls were SO excited to meet their baby brother. Kenzie was super cute with him & kept asking to see my belly because she couldn't figure out how he got out. Baby & I are doing well!

Farewell Florida, BIG Update

2011-07-24T14:28:00.001-06:00

I haven't mentioned this on our blog as of yet, but John applied to be a transfer student at BYU Law School for his 3rd year mainly so that we can be closer to his Mother & our family & friends there. My Mother-in-law has cancer and we want to be close to her in her time of need. So, we just found out this past Tuesday afternoon that John has been accepted & so we're moving to Utah! This week! AHhhhh! I had already purchased plane tickets for Kenzie, myself & my Mom (who's visiting from Hawaii) to fly to Utah tomorrow to go visit for a month but now,....we're moving there! It's been a stressful, insane 6 days of packing as quickly as we can, trying to find a place in Provo, everything else that's involved in moving & of course, saying goodbye. Today was my last official day as Primary President & I totally lost it when I had to say goodbye to Junior Primary. I LOVE those kids so much!

We were lucky to find a place in Provo already right by campus on the south east side, just south of Kiwanis Park. It's cute little house with 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, fenced in backyard & storage. We're excited! I'm going to miss my friends in Florida so much. It's been a fast 2 years & we've loved the beach, the sun, our pool, the change of pace, meeting new friends, law school and the opportunity to grow & learn more about ourselves & each other. We've loved our little life here in Naples. So, so long, farewell, Florida, Hello, we're back Utah.

We're going to have a...

2011-06-29T19:24:00.005-06:00

BOY!

So John totally called it. He's called all three now--it's like he has this 'sense' about our babies. I REALLY wanted a Boy & so did Kenzie--she's been asking for the past month, "Mom, Can I have a baby Brother, Puleeese?" So at first when I had such a rough 1st trimester I really wanted to blame it on having a boy but I didn't want to get my hopes up. So you can imagine the shock when the ultrasound tech. goes to check out the 'area' and BAM, there was no question about it. Both John & I just started laughing because we were so happy.

I really thought we were bound to have all girls but we broke the chain! I'm so thrilled be having a son that I can just fall in love with. What will he look like? We know what cute Shaw/Tillotson girls we make but what will a Shaw/Tillotson Boy look like? He'll be tall that's for sure but will he look more like his Dad or Mom? I'm guessing Dad since the Tillotson genes seem to be more dominate....so far. ;-) I'm so excited to meet our little man! The count down is on to November 20th (though I'd be perfectly fine with a week or two before that).

16 Weeks

2011-05-23T15:52:00.011-06:00

Love this little cartoon. & it's too true. I'm 16 weeks along now, feeling MUCH better. I'm in that awkward stage where my normal clothes don't fit but maternity clothes are too big. So I have a small handful of bottoms & tops that sorta look ok but mostly just make me feel fat even though I know there's a baby in there that's making my belly pooch out. I can't wait to find out if the bun in the oven is a boy or girl--we find out on June 28th in three weeks. Maybe I'll be showing by then.

We were lucky to take a little vacation to West Palm Beach with our Family Friends the Halversen's from Utah the week after John finished his finals. Here are my favorite pictures from the trip.

A couple friends & I threw my friend Kellye a baby party/shower. Kel was so sick, I felt bad she didn't feel well but she was a trooper & came to the party anyway. It was so fun!

Kenzie graduated from Pre-school at the end of May. She loved her teacher Miss Sue.

Kenzie also had her last day of dance & had a cute little performance--they were 'birds'. She was absolutely beaming the whole time & her smile was so infectious! I'll post a video of her dance performance on a separate post.

Big News

2011-04-28T16:25:00.004-06:00

I'm preggo! We are so excited! I'm due November 19th which puts Alyssa & baby #3-- 2 years 2 years two months apart which, yes is close, but we like 'em that way! :-) Here's an ultrasound of our little peanut.

So far this has been a rough pregnancy. 'Morning Sickness' or 'All-day Sickness' as I call it, has been much more intense then my last two pregnancy's. I'm nauseous from sun up till sun down & then often into the evening. I've come very close to throwing up several times but I hate it with a passion so I avoid it like the plague & start shoving food in my mouth & the feeling subsides. NO fun. I'm just praying to make it to my second trimester & hope it eases up. Everyday is a struggle right now & dinner--doesn't happen anymore. It's 'fend for yourself' while mom forces down cereal' or last night....this......

Celery, cream cheese, Pimento olives & Fritos. (Thanks for the idea kel) Mmmmm, Salty. It was literally the ONLY thing that looked edible in my fridge. I must be going crazy. What crazy things have you craved while pregnant?

Kenzie's 4th Birthday Party

2011-03-31T12:01:00.008-06:00

March 16th was Kenzie's 4th Birthday and we celebrated with a Pool Party with some of her favorite friends.

I got this fun idea online to put goldfish & Swedish fish in sand buckets for the kids to snack on & each friend got a pool 'noodle' & a squirt gun with their name on it.

Kenzie said to me "Look Mom, I'm sitting like a lady" (which means she crossed her legs since she's wearing a dress--apparently that action means she's a lady now). :-)

We had a chair for Kenzie & a chair for the gift giver so the gift giver got to be in the spotlight too. They really seemed to like that. :-)

Beach Bath Robe Beauties. Thanks Tutu & Grampa!

St. Patricks Day is the day after Kenzie's birthday so we celebrated with green pancakes, a lame attempt at green eggs (didn't use enough 'special leprechaun stuff'), & green milk for breakfast. Kenzie drew a special green picture.

& the girls wore green all day.

Alyssa's first time painting!

Zillions of Pictures

2011-03-09T14:34:00.031-07:00

Shout-out to the Aunties! This is for you!

Alyssa's First Birthday, October 1st, 2010

Halloween 2010

Kenzie's little pre-school class

Kenzie's 1st Dance Performance, December 12th, 2010

Thanks for the flowers Kellye!

Tutu & Grampa Arrive! Getting Ready for Christmas

SeaWorld & Disney World, December 18th-22nd

After sharing a Chocolate Ice Cream bar

Christmas Dinner

Acting Out the Christmas Story, Joseph, Mary & Alyssa (who's supposed to be baby Jesus)

Setting out a note & treats for Santa (Kenzie insisted Santa wanted Chocolate Milk) & Oats & Carrots for the Reindeer.

Christmas Morning! Thanks for the Barbie Aunt Aubrey & Family!

Kenzie got a small trampoline for Christmas from Mom & Dad.

Visiting 'Shark Valley' in the Everglades (no sharks, just lots of alligators & wildlife)

Notice the huge gator on the right--you walk right along side them--kinda crazy.

Visiting the Park, January 6th, 2011

Visiting the Park, February 15th, 2011

Notice Alyssa's curls!

Spring Break Trip to Orlando last week with the Wilcox's, Feb. 28th-March 4th

First day at Disney World it rained cats & dogs

Kenzie with her buddy Tate

Alyssa with her buddy Hayden

Kenzie was in Princess HEAVEN!

Sea World

John's 31st Birthday! March 7th, 2011

Don't you just want to squeeze her?

2010-11-19T18:54:00.006-07:00

Alyssa Jane Tillotson
1 year old

Someone's turning 1 today

2010-10-04T15:07:00.008-06:00

Can you believe it? Alyssa turns 1 today! She is such a blessing in our lives. She lights up my day every time I get her in the morning when she greets me with a bright toothy grin. And if you can believe it....she's walking! everywhere! There's a video at the end so you can see for yourself. Happy Birthday Alyssa! We love you so much!

1st piggys

I've been feeling a little artsy lately so I painted her some butterfly's in her room with the help of my Mom & later a friend. This is before.

And this is after.

I found this old barf yellow colored shelf at a 2nd hand store, stray painted it white & voula! it's not ugly anymore. I've been wanting to have a place to hang Kenzie & Alyssa's blessing dress & tiny shoes.

More butterflys...and Alyssa's hair bows & flowers

And more... I went a little crazy. :-)

And I had to post this picture because it just makes my day--they're mine & I love them.

A Big week of Firsts

2010-09-12T21:25:00.012-06:00

This last week was a big one in the Tillotson household. Mostly for Kenzie...well, all for Kenzie, but also for Mom & Dad who watched from the side lines. Kenzie had her first 'real' dance class AND her first day of Pre-School. I looked at several dance studios & decided to go with the most 'classic' ballet studio 'Etudes de Ballet' that offered a 30 minute pre-ballet with 10 min.s of tap at the end. The teacher is a doll, and being a dance teacher myself I was so impressed with the other 3 yr. olds in the class. They were all so well-behaved!! I knew Kenzie loved every second of it because she never stopped smiling--which made ME smile.

You can spot her on the far left.

They have the most beautiful studios & this adorable little barre. Kenzie's 3rd from the left. There was a really funny moment at the barre that she decided the 'dig for gold', as we call it in our house, aka pick her nose, which she did for a good 2 mortifying minutes and in my head I was thinking 'don't eat it, please don't eat it'...she decided to wipe it on her leotard.

For Pre-school, we decided to go with a Mon, Wed, Fri, 9-noon class (that means I get 9 hours a week with just Alyssa to actually get stuff done!) & it seems to be a good fit for her. She was so excited for her first day that she got dressed all by herself (it typically takes some coercing) and came into our room at 7am beaming and so excited. Then she put her backpack on & refused to take it off for the next 2 hours before pre-school started.

New Calling & a little tidbit

2010-08-31T19:05:00.003-06:00

So we've MIA all summer and now that things are starting to settle down I ask myself, "Do I try to blog about everything we did this summer? and post about a zillion & one pictures from all our fun adventures?" naahhhh that would take way too long and since time is precious, I'm going to just start blogging from where we are here & now and you'll just have to know that we had one awesome summer. :-) Why is her time so precious you might ask? Well about a month ago Heavenly Father decided I needed to grow & be challenged in ways I never knew I could and I was called as the Primary President. It's been a great calling & I've already grown a lot spiritually. Most of my 'free time' is spent working on it though as it's a big job especially in our ward where there are a lot of changes happening right now. So, I'm shooting to post little tidbits instead of sagas so I don't feel guilty about not blogging anymore. Here's your first tidbit.

Our little Alyssa is really no longer 'little' in fact she's gotta be 22+ pds. and she's crawling all over the place & walking along furniture and with her little walker. Isn't is amazing what one little lady with new-found independence & a lot of curiosity can accomplish in 5 minutes?

Lots of Pictures :-)

2010-06-17T14:54:00.014-06:00

The month of May was busy and fun! I think these pictures tell it all. Congratulations to John's older brother Josh on graduating from Law School! I'm looking forward to this day in 2 years. The picture below with all the cute Mommies & babies does need some explanation: When we first moved here I was 8 months pregnant, as it turned out there were 5 other LDS law school student wifes who were also pregnant or had just given birth and we all had GIRLS! These great women have become my friends over the past months and I'm thankful for their friendships.

New Blog & Binky Clip Giveaway!

2010-05-31T21:54:00.005-06:00

So some of you may know that I make Binky Clips. I got so sick of constantly having to pick my daughter's binky off the floor (hoping it was clean or washing it off) and giving it back to her. Then I had a friend who gave me a binky clip and I thought, "I could make something like that!". So I make them for myself and to give to friends at baby showers but I'd love to start selling them too! I've sold a few to friends and friends of friends but I'd love to 'grow the business' so I've started a new blog and I'd love to do a giveaway to kick things off. Go check it out! I'd love to give one away to family or a friend so don't feel like just because you already have a Binky Clip from me means you can't enter. Please do! :-)

Click here to visit the new blog!
babyaccessories123.blogspot.com

Off the bandwagon....

2010-05-03T06:59:00.011-06:00

It's true....I fell off but it's time to get back on. So we've been busy these past few months! The month of March was insane--birthdays, trips and our 7 year wedding anniversary. BUT I have to start with my favorite picture of all that was taken yesterday.....

My little Alyssa is 7 months old and a whopping 19 pds. I'm DYING over this picture because it's just the essence of who she is right now...happy, chubby (let's be honest she practically needs a bra) and adorable. I love this little lady! By the way, believe it or not we took this at HOME! We got a new camera-Canon Rebel T1I and we have been having WAY too much fun with it.

What have we been so busy doing you ask? John's 30th birthday on March 7th
(pic. taken with old camera)

Kenzie's 3rd birthday, March 16th (pic. taken with old camera)

I've been busy in the kitchen working on my cooking skills. I'm currently trying several new recipes from "Deceptively Delicious" that include veg. purees (in an attempt to get Kenzie to eat more vegetables). I was just so proud of my pie dough 'weave' on this chicken pot pie. (pic. taken with old camera)

Playing at the beach. John got the next two shots with our new camera and fixed them up on Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Gardening. Everyday Kenzie looks forward to going outside to water our 'garden'. The tomatoes have been so yummy!

I got my hair all chopped off! I needed a short easy cut for summer. Do you like?

Essential Swimwear giveaway

2010-04-03T11:44:00.001-06:00

So one of my favorite websites Freebies to Deals ( http://www.freebies2deals.com/) is having a giveaway for a cute modest swimsuit by Essential Swimwear! Check it out: http://www.freebies2deals.com/2010/04/giveaway-2-essential-swimwear-swimsuit.html

So much to post so little time...

2010-03-11T21:35:00.003-07:00

Life's busy, then again when isn't it? March is a crazy busy month for us with John's birthday on the 7th (he turned 30!!), our wedding anniversary on the 14th (7 years!) and Kenzie turning 3 on the 16th. I will have plenty of pics of all events when I get the chance to download them. In the mean time I just have to post the funniest cubbiest picture of Alyssa. Hopefully it'll make you smile.

A Message From Alyssa

2010-02-10T14:44:00.006-07:00

Hi, Can you believe I'm 4 months already? I know time flies right? Well, knock on wood, I'm finally sleeping through the night again for Mommy (but you never know I just might decide to start waking her up at 4 am again--it's fun). I love to smile, coo, squeal, and I actually reach my toys and play with them now! Everything goes straight into my mouth because I love to drool on everything! I've got to be at least 15 pounds now because I'm in #3 diapers and 6-9 months clothes--Yup I'm chubby and I love it. Butterball, baby sumo and chubby wubby are terms of endearment I often hear my Mommy call me. I pretty much love life except when Mom eats dairy because that give me gas. So she's being a real trooper for me and not eating any dairy or chocolate to make me happy. :-) Thanks mom.

I love listening to my big sister tell me stories and play with me but I'm not a huge of her waking me up from my nap in the afternoons. I love taking bathes with her now that I'm big enough. She likes dumping water all over me and making me laugh. Overall she's a really good big sister and I want to be just like her when I grow up. :-) My Dad's pretty cool too, and I love when he cuddles with me and gives me kisses. I don't get to play with him enough though because he's at school all day studying so I look forward to the weekends when I get to see him a ton! Did I mention I have a best friend....it's my binky. I won't go anywhere without it nor will I go to sleep without it--I guess you could say I'm just a sucker for it. ;-) I really can't wait to meet all these 'family & friends' my Mom keeps talking about in Utah so you better come visit or we're coming to get you! ok, I'm getting cranky because I need a nap so bye for now and maybe Mom will let me write again when I'm 5 months old!

Warning: Very HIGH pitched squeal may break computer speakers. ;-)

Sea World Orlando!

2010-01-25T18:07:00.011-07:00

We took a short trip to Seaworld and the Orlando Temple back in December when John was on break. These pictures pretty much sum up the awesome COLD trip. (it was in the 40's the whole time--very unusual for this part of the US)

Touching the Manta Rays. Kenzie squealed with delight every time she touched one of these friendly slimy creatures.

It was so cold I kept Alyssa snuggled up in her car seat the whole time so she got to sleep all day (which made the night time not so fun). I have to say Sea World totally caters to nursing Mom's and had a special nursing room with rocking chairs and peaceful 'aquatic' music playing. It became my favorite time to get off my feet, snuggle with Alyssa and relax.

Kenzie thought this was the coolest thing to climb inside and see what the world looks like from a fishes perceptive without having to get wet.

Sea World has some pretty awesome rides for little ones and since it was so cold there were no lines.

Shamu, Shamu!! Kenzie's still singing the song

We stopped at the Florida's Natural Orange Juice plant on the way home and got taste test all their juices and learn about how they make OJ. It was so cool to drive past miles and miles of orange tree orchards on the way home.

I took this picture on sat. when we headed down to the beach to enjoy the warmer weather. John loves 'wearing' Alyssa in the baby carrier as a proud Daddy. I've discovered babies are a bit of an anomaly here so Alyssa gets a lot of attention & ooo & ahh's everywhere we go-especially at the beach.

3 Months old + Christmas!

2010-01-03T22:36:00.012-07:00

Our sweet Alyssa is already 3 months old! Though she's stopped sleeping through the night :-( (sad mommy) she's definitely healthy and growing quickly! She up to 13 pds. now. We just love this adorable, happy, chubby little lady.

Going back in time here's some pictures from Christmas...

Making a gingerbread house at the library

Christmas Eve at Josh & Kim's

Surprise! Santa came to visit Christmas Eve to Josh & Kim's house. Kenzie squealed will excite when she heard him burst through the door saying "Ho ho ho!"

All the cute Tillotson kiddos in their new Christmas PJ's

Kenzie couldn't wait to wear her Christmas dress to church the Sunday before Christmas

Kenzie's pretty hair mom had fun doing

Christmas Kisses!

Happy 2010!!

A Very Merry Christmas to You!

2009-12-25T09:17:00.005-07:00

Merry Christmas from the Tillotsons!

Our chubby wubby Alyssa

Our two Sweethearts

Dearest Family & Friends,

Greetings from sunny, hot, humid Florida! We hope that you and your family are doing well and that you’re all happy and healthy. What a year it has been for us! Not only have we been blessed to have a new addition to our family but John’s just about done with his first semester of law school.

John knew he wanted to continue his education but we didn’t make the decision to go to law school until September of last year. He was accepted to several schools but the decision became easier when Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, FL offered him a good scholarship. Ave Maria happens to be the same school John’s older brother Josh currently attends which made the deal even sweeter. We are so excited to have family with us away from home! We moved to Florida at the end of July and moved into a great 3 bedroom townhouse 10 minutes from school, 5 minutes from the freeway and Super Walmart and 15 minutes from the BEACH! John’s enjoying law school and it’s a good challenge for him. It took some time for him to re-adjust to the ‘student life’ of studying and going to class verses working a full-time job for Farmers.

The other big event in our family this year was the birth of our daughter Alyssa. Alyssa Jane Tillotson entered the world on her due date October 4th, 2009 at 12:15 pm weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches in length with a full head of dark brown hair. I had an interesting time moving while being 8 months pregnant and having to find a brand new doctor. Thankfully everything worked out and I was grateful for a smooth transition from one doctor to another. Adjusting to the ridiculous heat and humility took some time for all of us but once we realized to just stay indoors and blast the A/C in the car we were fine. It’s just starting to cool down but it’s still in the 80’s most days—quite the change for us coming from the snowy state of Utah!

Alyssa’s a wonderful baby! She started sleeping through the night at 2 months old and I’m SO grateful for it! Adjusting to life with 2 kids has been challenging. Alyssa’s gaining weight quickly and loves to sleep, nurse, cuddle, coo, and get kisses and hugs from her big sister Makenzie. Speaking of Kenzie….our Kenzie, has really grown up! She is so full of life and energy and she amazes us with the new things she learns everyday. She loves to sing, ‘read’ stories, climb on anything, paint, dance (much to Mom’s delight), watch TV, and be as independent as possible. We must hear “I do it by myself” 20 times a day. She has lots of new playmates here and I’m grateful to have several new friends too.

We miss so many of you and wish we could join you this year in Utah or wherever you might be but it’s just not in our very limited budget—maybe next year!! (one can hope!) We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas season and continue to keep Christ at the center of it. Keep us in your prayers as we make it through the next 3 years here in Naples and we’ll keep you all in our thoughts and prayers as well! We love you all very much!

Love,

John, Emalia, Kenzie & Alyssa Tillotson

Can you tell who's who?

2009-12-07T07:44:00.007-07:00

I started taking pictures of Alyssa after church about a month ago when I realized I was having deja vu. I took a look at the picture of Kenzie's birth announcement and realized why.

On another note, Alyssa is now 2 months old!! I can't quite believe it but I'm grateful because (knock on wood) she started sleeping through the night a week ago (with the exception of one night) which means I'm getting 6 hrs. straight of sleep and slowly starting to feel like a human being again. Now, to be clear 'sleeping through the night' just means I can feed her at 11pm, put her down around midnight and expect her to sleep till 6ish am. I'm almost too afraid to talk about it for fear she'll start waking up around 3 or 4 again. ;-)

She's getting big and chubby and I love it. At her 5 week check up she was 10 pds. 8 oz. so I'm guessing she probably up to 11, maybe even 12 pounds the way clothes are fitting her. We're still battling this never ending thrush. We're both on meds. but we're having a harder time getting it to clear up. I finally got my clogged milk duct to clear!

She loves to coo, sleep, eat, sit-up in her bumbo, smile, take bathes, giggle in her sleep (it's the cutest thing ever) and cuddle. She's definitely a cuddle bug. She doesn't like to wait very long to eat when she's hungry, get strapped into her car seat or hang out by herself when she's awake (she enjoys company).

John started finals this week and we're already into a very busy December. I'm in charge of the Live Nativity for our ward Christmas Party this fri. It'll be fun! Ah, I hear the munchkin' now "waaaaaa"="mom feed me". one more picture...

ps The top picture is Kenzie and the 2nd one down is Alyssa. :-)

Baby Smiles

2009-11-22T21:20:00.001-07:00

Is there anything sweeter then that first big smile they give you that just says "mommy I love you"?

New Moon Fun!

2009-11-21T17:11:00.007-07:00

RARRhhhhh! is all I have to say. Don't we look so good in our "Hungry for the Wolf" shirts?! (thanks Kellye!) So I went to see 'New Moon' with some of my friends and we joined the 'die hards' at the midnight showing. Maybe not one of my best ideas considering I was completely wiped out for the next day running on 2 1/2 hrs. of sleep but I have to say--SOOO WORTH it! The movie was fantastic. I loved it. I went in with low expectations (they were way too high when I saw Twilight) and I was really impressed with everything from the makeup to the special affects--all of it was really well done. We had a small New Moon Party at Kellye's house before hand and had a great time.

These 'wolf' cupcakes turned out really cool.

The whole spread--yum!

Notice the "Blood Orange" drink Kellye found at Target.

One Wild Weekend!

2009-11-09T20:35:00.002-07:00

Well, it may be a full week ago but gimme a break I'm running on 4 1/2 hours sleep and blogging is pretty low on the priority list. We DID have an awesome weekend last week not only was did we celebrate Halloween, but we also blessed Alyssa!

Halloween was a lot of fun. Kenzie was once again a princess/fairy from Disney's lastest movie "Tinkerbell"--more my choice since the costume was on sale at wal-mart for $5 and I knew she'd be happy in whatever girly outfit she got to wear. :-) Alyssa 'dressed-up' a our "pumpkin" for the parade at John's school and then a ballerina (Thanks for the outfit Ash!) for trick-or-treating and the ward party. Halloween night we ended up hanging out with our friends Kellye and Jordan and the kids decorated yummy skull cookies.

The next day was a whirl wind. Alyssa turned 1 month old and John gave her a wonderful blessing! We somehow managed to get to church extra early to save seats for all our family (we took up two rows just between Josh & Kim and their 6 kids plus Betsy & Roger and their 5 kids plus John, Kenzie, me & Alyssa). We were lucky to have Betsy, Roger and their kids drive down from Orlando (they happened to be visiting Disney World this past week) JUST for the blessing. We had a great little luncheon after and got to visit with them before they left. It was great to see them since we weren't planning on it. My parents left Halloween day :-( and I've REALLY been missing them--not just the tremendous help they were but their sweet presence and spirit they brought into our home (which really became their home after being here for 5 weeks!).

I'm starting to adjust to doing this whole '2 kids' thing on my own (I do have John's help but he's really focused on school) but it's challenging--let me tell ya!! The sleep depervation is KILLING me but I'm hanging in there. Alyssa and I are in the middle of an episode of thrush-it hit hard over the weekend (of course the only time the doc's is closed) but we're on meds. as of today and starting to feel better. We are LOVING having Alyssa around--she's such a great addition to our family and Kenzie is just so sweet with her. She just showers her with Kisses and Hugs all day long.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-27T19:52:00.002-06:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Sweet Baby Alyssa

2009-10-16T14:28:00.011-06:00

We're alive and well! It's been a long sleepless 2 weeks since we brought Alyssa home but we're surviving. Thanks to everyone who's been bringing us meals--it's helped a ton. :-) Alyssa reminds me a lot of Kenzie as a baby but she's definatley her own little person--a much easier baby actually. She nurses well (fast-10-15 mins on each side!), burps the second you lift her up to your shoulder, doesn't cry very much (knock on wood), loves the binky, and loves her sleep (most of the time). I put her down at midnight last night and she slept till 6 am!! I woke up in pain but grateful for the sleep. At her 1st doc. appt. last friday she was back up to her birth weight plus an ounce (7 pds. 4 oz.) and very healthy. Here's some sweet moments from the past two weeks.

We are proud to announce the arrival of....

2009-10-07T12:53:00.009-06:00

Alyssa Jane Tillotson

Born Oct. 4th, 2009
12:16 pm
7 pds. 3 oz.
19 inches

Right after Birth

1 day old

1st Family Picture

The Proud Sister

"Mom, she's so Beautiful"

Today, 3 days old

Check out that dark hair!

Kenzie in the Newspaper!

2009-09-28T14:54:00.002-06:00

So someone walked up to my brother-in-law Josh at church on sunday and asked him if he had any relatives here in florida because on the 3rd page of the sunday newspaper was a big picture of a little girl with his last name. Ironically when we went to Rookery Bay on sat. there was a guy from the newspaper who took a few pictures of Kenzie and asked her name etc. but we didn't think her picture would actually end up in the newspaper! It's funny too because I was taking pictures of her the same time he was and if you look at the one I took below (where she's in the fish tank viewing thing) you'll see how a much better camera with a cool angle puts out newspaper worthy pics. Here's the link for the newspaper pic.:

http://www.naplesnews.com/photos/galleries/2009/sep/26/national-estuary-day/85021/#section_header

STILL pregnant

2009-09-27T18:33:00.012-06:00

Yes...I'm STILL pregnant (much to my dismay). Kenzie was 2 1/2 weeks early so I was betting on having this baby girl by now but instead my body and the baby have decided to wait...who knows how long! Maybe I'll even make it to my due date or (heaven forbid) past my due date. Anyways, in the mean time back-up (my parents) has arrived and this baby continues to grow (she has to be at least 7 pds. or more by now, and for my body that's a lot to carry), kick and punch my ribs, sides, stomach, back etc. etc., keep me from sleeping and has me going pee....oh about every 15 mins. at least. I'm having SOOO much fun, can you tell? We have had a great September though and I thought I'd share a few highlight pictures.

Trips to the beach have become a weekly event and Kenzie LOVES playing the sand and surf.

We've made some awesome friends since arriving (this is Kellye and Jordan--we love them!) and found out they enjoy 'Settlers' too! (though I have to say playing games like this with little ones around is nearly impossible and we barely made it to 6 points before calling 'game').

Kenzie's made lots of new friends as well and here she is with her two new buddies Hayden and Tate (Kellye & Jordan's kiddos) enjoying ice cream cones and Toy Story.

This is typical Kenzie making sure her doll has a front row seat next to her for a special viewing of 'Dora'. I think she also misses watching shows sitting next her buddy Kurtis (in UT--they did everything together) and must be filling the void with her doll.

Miss Personality

We visited "Rookery Bay" this weekend (a great Estuary Learning center down south a ways) and Kenzie could not get enough of the little critters they let her touch and hold. She wasn't shy at all and was completely fascinated by all the things that would have made me go eekkkk! She's so brave.

I love the fish swimming by her head. She sat in this little 'kid viewing spot' forever just staring.

This was today in our backyard/patio area. I wanted to get a few shots of Kenzie with 'the bump' before she arrives.

39 weeks and ready to POP!

Only 2 & 1/2 weeks left!

2009-09-16T15:03:00.002-06:00

I'm officially full term! 37 & 1/2 weeks to be exact. I think it looks like I have a basketball showed up my shirt. At my last appt. our baby girl was already 6 pds. 3 oz. and my fluid was at 14 oz.! (which is awesome for me since my body could barely keep the amniotic fluid above 12 oz. on bedrest with Kenzie). My appt. today went really well too--I'm 50% effaced and dilated to a 2 already!! ekkkk! She's going to be here before we know it. I'm really hoping to make it another week and a 1/2 in time for my parents to arrive. They are driving our Volvo down here for us and should arrive a week before I'm due. I can't wait to meet our baby girl. :-)

I'm really not that domesticated am I?....

2009-09-08T09:25:00.003-06:00

When we got to Florida John was inspired by my sister-in-law Kim who makes her own bread for her family of 8 everyday and bought a bread maker. I laughed and said....There no way I'm going make my own bread.....HA! Well, Kim came over, helped me make a few loafs and they were delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I'm now hooked on making bread, and last night homemade pizza dough--YUM! So....I guess I AM that domesticated. ;-) and for all you gals out there who make your own bread I hope you know I'm teasing because being 'domesticated' is great.

On another note, potty training is going as well as expected, all things considered. This first day was rough--4 accidents--yuck. Second, third, and fourth days were better with NO accidents but some resistance and lots of bribing. I even ventured out wed. and took Kenzie to a baby shower and she did great! Everyday she seems to be grasping the concept more and more and half the time she volunteers to go by herself. The other half the time she needs reminding. The only prob. we're running into is she gets so excited about going potty she runs out of the bathroom before wiping and it ends up being a struggle to get her undies back on and finish the job. She also thinks she has to completely strip her bottom half in order to go and likes to throw her undies as far from the toilet as she can--we have no idea where she got this from. Also, after several accidents at night and during nap time we decided to stick with pull ups only for sleep and that has saved me a lot of laundry. She's waking up dry more and more though--so we're getting there!! John and I are both so proud of her!

There comes a time in every toddler's life when...

2009-08-31T12:27:00.014-06:00

The official 'Potty Training Week' begins!

The Supplies....

The Trainer

The Trainee

The 'Support Staff"

Wish us luck! We're hoping to have our girl fully potty trained by the end of the week. We'll keep you posted!

Our little treasures

2009-08-22T15:18:00.002-06:00

We ventured over to the beach again this morning and decided to start a shell collection. Kenzie had a great time picking up the biggest shells she could find and then coming over to check out our collection and deciding they were hers too. I guess everything in a 2 yr. olds world is "Mine".

Our new daily activity...

2009-08-20T13:07:00.003-06:00

Kenzie has started asking to paint everyday so we get all set-up in the kitchen (1st time was in the living room on the carpet--didn't turn out so good--thank goodness for Carpet cleaner) and then I let her go to town for a while. There's often paint on her fingers (she thinks it's fingernail polish) elbows, and face but who cares? It's washable and non-toxic so I've stop worrying.

The Masterpieces

Farewell Utah, Hello Florida Part 2

2009-08-12T18:39:00.014-06:00

We've been making the most of our time here so far with LOTS of activities (unpacking seems like a minor detail at this point). We met Josh, Kim & the kids at the beach on sat. which was a ton of fun. It was SO errie going to a silent beach--there were literally no waves (as you can see in the pictures below). It kinda creeped me out for a while. The plus is Kenzie can play right in the water and we don't have to worry about her getting knocked over by a wave! There was a lot of wildlife in the ocean--big groups of tiny fish, huge sea bass and to my amazment large groups of small stings rays that swam right along the shoreline. The water is like bathwater--it doesn't even cool you off when you get hot and it's so full of salt you can just lay back and float without kicking.

The shoreline is covered with seashells!

I can't believe I'm 7 months pregnant already!

John (on the R) & his bro. Josh (on the L) with the kiddos. I think they look like twins at times.

Another shot of our little townhouse. The unit on the right is empty and the one of the left has a nice, quiet young couple living in it.

The master bedroom--wish I would have opened the blinds so you could see the view from our windows. Behind our unit is a large 'preserve' as they call it. I call it the 'jungle' because that's literally what it looks like. Our little backyard has a fence and is elevated above the 'preserve' but it's nothing but palm trees, lg. bushes, ferns and who knows what else.

Our cluttered dining/living room...

...and cluttered kitchen. This is probably my fav. room. There's so much room to cook I Luv it!

I turned 27 on monday and John and I got to go on a date! (it's soooo nice having family here to babysit for us--thanks Josh & Kim!) We went to the Olive Garden for dinner, the beach for sunset and then to my fav. Cold Stone for dessert.

This picture does not do the sunset any justice because of the flash but it was gorgeous!

One of the most exciting things about this past week is that we started potty training Kenzie! She's gone on the potty a few times in the past but we decided to give it a try for real now that we're mostly settled here and she seems ready. She went #2 on the potty for the 1st time on saturday and as a reward she got to go to the store with John and pick out her 'poo poo icecream' as she calls it. The reward system seems to be working well--2 M&M's for #1, an icecream cone for #2. I know, pretty huge reward but it's a pretty huge accomplishment! ;-) We also got the 'potty watch' which has been going ok--she liked it at first but now she doesn't seem to like it--not sure why. I'm just trying to remember to be patient and not force her into this.

Other events include meeting my new OB who I like. She's definatley different then my last doc. but I like the overall feel I get from her and her staff. I also got to go to the 'birth place' where she delivers and it's so nice! They make all women delivering there go to an 'anesthesia consult appt.' even it you're planning on delivering natural. Kenzie came 2 1/2 weeks early which means this baby girl could be here in 6 short weeks!! ahhhh that seems like way too soon. I've got a lot to do. :-)

One of the biggest differences from UT to FL has been the weather! The humidity takes your breath away when you step outside and makes it feel like it's about a thousand degrees. Once you're in the car with the A/C on though it's not bad. Every afternoon/evening there's been a huge thunder and rainstorm too. It's the loudest thunder I've ever heard and sounds like it's right in front of out place! I caught this video this afternoon so you can see how much water comes down off the roof and how freckin' loud the thunder is. The amazing part of it all?....Kenzie somehow sleeps through it.

2009-08-09T15:26:00.001-06:00

Farewell to Utah, Hello Florida Part 1

2009-08-09T14:16:00.005-06:00

So we've officially arrived at our 'new home' in Naples, FL and I finally have internet! I don't know how humankind ever survived without it. This update is definitely 'past due' but as you can imagine I've been a tad busy. Kenzie and I arrive Monday and were pleasantly surprised to come home to a new, spacious townhouse that was more then halfway unpacked already!! (pic. of outside above, pics. of inside to come eventually) John had some help from my brother and sister-in-law & their kids down here and a lot of boxes were empty already (including my kitchen and pantry--thanks Kim & John!). John had the moving truck for a few extra days after they unloaded it (thanks to the people in our new ward who came out to help!) so he bought us a used but nice kitchen table & chairs and a nice couch and loveseat. Craig's list is readily used here and he got a screamin' deal on both.

BEFORE we left though we had an outpouring of love and support from our family & friends to whom I want to say "THANK YOU for EVERYTHING!". My cousin and best friend Aubrey organized a huge goodbye party for us and kept Kenzie & I busy the last week we were in UT with trips to the zoo and pool, a fun girls night (I finally saw Harry Potter!) and a big family dinner on sunday. My parents sold their home recently and have temporarily moved to UT so we got to spend the weekend with them before we flew down here. They'll be joining us for a month when the baby arrives. I have so many pictures I want to share I'm going to post our 'move to FL' in a few parts. Part one being the hardest part--the "Goodbye". The fun, sweet and sad (looking at them makes me sad & homesick) pictures are above.

We're Back!....Hawaii Pictures

2009-07-16T09:44:00.002-06:00

Preggy Tummy Pic.s

2009-06-12T10:38:00.006-06:00

This was taken when I was 20 weeks along.

Here's a pic. from today. I can't believe I'm already 24 weeks along! It's fun to be showing a lot more then I did when I was this far along with Kenzie. I'm pretty sure it means I have a lot more amniotic fluid so I don't have the same complications I had with Kenzie with this pregnancy.

Drum roll please....

2009-05-18T13:44:00.003-06:00

We're having another GIRL!!!

Unfortunately I don't have a scanner that works right now so I wasn't able to post any ultrasound pictures but she's healthy and growing quickly! As soon as I have a working scanner I post pic.s so you can all see her button nose. :-)

'Udder Covers' for Cheap!

2009-05-05T22:32:00.005-06:00

Being in Mommy mode I'm always looking for the next good deal and this one I had to pass on. My favorite website (slickdeals.net) has this info. listed:

Uddercovers has nursing covers (in Pink or Blue) for $32 - $33 coupon slickdeal + $8 S/H = $7.

I went through the checkout and got a blue one (I really think I'm having a boy but who knows...oh we will NEXT thursday!!) and it was only $8.50 with tax!! That's such a screaming deal and I have a product similar to this one and LOVE it. The one I have doesn't have the wire part that provides easy viewing and better ventilation (it can get hot under there!). I was thinking this would also make a great baby shower gift.

Law School News & Our little Easter bunny

2009-04-16T21:10:00.015-06:00

So.....I've been anticipating the decision letter from BYU Law for weeks now and it finally arrived on tues. and......it wasn't good news. He didn't get in *sniff sniff*. I'm really sad to be leaving UT but I'm trying to be positive because FLORIDA isn't that bad right? We're officially going to Ave Maria Law School (yes it's a Chatholic Law School) located in Naples, FL. One plus is John's brother Josh (and his wife Kim and 6 kids) go to school there so we won't be totally alone and the other plus is the school has offered John a hefty scholarship so that means less debt!

I have really mixed feelings about this move right now so I'm trying to work through them. It will be so hard to leave all our family and friends here in Utah and I can't imagine not living with Aubs, Blake and Kurtis (we've been here almost three years now). Kenzie and Kurtis are so close and it'll be hard for them not to be able to play together. I'll have to cook EVERY night (Aubs and I trade off cooking dinner mon.-thurs.), I won't be able to run errands while Kenzie's asleep (we take turns running errands when the kids take naps. It's amazing to go grocery shopping alone!) and if I want to work I won't be able to just walk upstairs with Kenzie and say 'Bye'! I really am spoiled living here. On top of it all we'll be moving sooner then I'd like (last week of July) and I'll be 7 months pregnant moving to a state with 100 degree plus weather! oooo fun! Anyways, we're going to try to make the best of the next 3 months and I'm going to try to prepare as much as I can for this big change. Wish us luck :-)

On a happier note little Kenzie had a fun Easter this year including 4 Easter egg hunts, dying eggs (and her face and hands) and a visit from the Easter bunny.

Little miss Easter bunny and her friend Chloe

My friend Kazie had an Easter party and right before the egg hunt all the kids lined up and we got them all to say "cheese" (yes it was a miracle).

Egg hunt #2 at a local park in Sandy. There were thousands of people there and it was CRAZY!

After dying eggs Kurtis & Kenzie got to have "naked time" and I caught this cute picture of them.

Our Easter Sunday Princess. I had so much fun curling her hair, it only took about 8 mins. and she sat still the whole time.

Easter Hunt #3 at down on the Palmer's farm (Blakes family). They have an annual tradition of filling about 200 eggs to hide for the kids to find all around the farm, grilling hot dogs and enjoying the spring weather. Kenzie loved running around on the farm.

What a view!

Easter Egg Hunt #4 with the nursery class. Our cute nursery leader Jennifer Prickett organized an Easter agg hunt for all her kids. It was so fun except one thing....the eggs were all empty. Not quite sure what to think of that but Kenzie seemed to have a good time regardless!

We are alive and have news!!!

2009-04-03T12:23:00.017-06:00

We're back! It's been a really crazy month of March including my parents visiting for a month, John's 29th birthday, our 6 yr. wedding anniversary, Kenzie's 2nd birthday, a trip to Montana to visit my Grama Vi, a girls trip to Las Vegas, Em judging an all-day dance competition, eMotion's dance concert and our first Doctor's appt. for BABY #2!! Yes it's true, I am pregnant! I'm 14 weeks along and feeling good. We're so excited to have another munchkin' we can't wait. This pregnancy has been quite different then when I was pregnant with Kenzie. I've experienced a lot more morning sickness and gained weight faster this time. I'm highly suspicious we're having a boy, but who knows!! We'll find out the gender in about 6 weeks--I can't wait! My due date is Oct. 4th so I'm thinking if this one comes early like Kenzie did we'll have a new addition to our family in mid-sept.

The question is...where is John going to Law School and where will we be living??....well I'm pretty sure we know but we're still waiting to hear from BYU (I'm still waiting to hear from the Y...John gave up a long time ago). We'll know for sure by April 15th (if not sooner) and then we'll announce where we're headed!!

Here's some highlights from March:

John's Birthday Party--Blowing out a candle on his "cheesecake" birthday cake

Kenzie & her 2nd cousin Miles

Momma, Birthday Boy, & Kenzie

Kenzie spending some quality time with Tutu (my Mom)

Kenzie & Grampa (my Dad)

Kenzie's 2nd Birthday Party!! Uncle Matt & Aunt Kirstin made Kenzie her 1st Barbie Cake!

The Amazing Masterpiece (funny: the barbie was too tall for the cake so he cut the her legs off)

Kenzie's VERY happy about her cake (she was even happier when she ate a whole piece with ice cream)

Uncle Matt & Aunt Kirstin spoiled Kenzie not only with a Barbie cake but a incredible personalized handmade Toy Box filled with dress-ups (Matt made it himself!).

Vegas baby!! We had an incredible time--sleeping in, laying out by the pool, eating out every night (this pic. is at a really cool Mediterranean/Italian place called Mazza) and clubbing.

We saw 'The Phantom of the Opera' at the Veneitian and it was AMAZING!

and last but not least last night I took Aubs with me to see the BYU Dancers' Co. perform their pre-tour concert in Provo and I got to hang out the "Freshman Boys" (as they will always be known by DC members 04-05) Jeremiah, Cody and Ivan. I love these boys, though they really are men now and have changed but really haven't changed at all. We had a fun time reminiscing about our S.E. Asia tour back in '05 and laughing at all the silly things we did. It was a fun night!

Kenzie's 1st offical Hair-cut

2009-02-27T14:39:00.004-07:00

My fabulous cousin Kirstin gave Kenzie her first 'official' hair cut last week. Kenzie's hair was cute up in piggies but down it resembled 'sort-of-a-mullet'. We gave Kenzie a sucker to keep her occupied which was good in the beginning until all the loose cut hair started sticking to the sucker and she ended up eating some of it ("Yucky Mama" she would say). At first we weren't going to cut bangs (John was insistent that we don't) but after Kirstin cut it to one length I convinced John I was sick of her always having hair in her eyes (it's impossible to keep a clip in her hair) so he finally gave in and Kirstin cuts bangs. (which I think turned out SO cute!) It was an adventure and I'm so grateful to Kirstin for doing it!

The mullet-style-'before'-hair (I had just taken it out of piggies so it's all funky)

The 'after' shot-one nice length with a little natural curl.

'Do you like my new hair-do?'

Celine Dion Concert!!

2009-02-23T11:01:00.005-07:00

My cousin Aubrey a.k.a. 'the Internet Guru', as we like to call her, was online last week and noticed Travelzoo was selling Celine Dion tickets for only $29! I guess they were trying to fill the huge arena or something because I've NEVER heard of tickets to see Celine go for that cheap. We of course jumped on the opportunity and got a few seats right before they sold out. We had a great time and I loved every min. of it!! She's such an amazing singer and I was so impressed with the whole show. She even had 2 encores, the last being her classic "My Heart will go on" from Titanic. We weren't allowed to take cameras inside (though we were mad because SO many people snuck them in) so we took a picture in the parking lot and I had to get a picture of my ticket that normally sells for $100 that we got for $29! :-) Love a good deal. I was so sad I never got to see her in Las Vegas but this totally made up for it!

Em, Aubs, Shelby, Kirstin, & Jana

My new best friend...

2009-02-12T22:28:00.006-07:00

Do you ever have those days when you just need to get your mind off things and want something to do that doesn't include the TV? In my case I've simply listened/watched "Imagination Movers" so many times I want to shoot myself. On my favorite website EVER-- http://slickdeals.net I found a link to download 'Big Kahuna Reef' from Amazon for free! It's a great make-your-eyes-hurt-from-not-blinking, can't-stop-because-I-just-need-to-pass-this-level, plain ol' addictive fun. Here's the link so 'you too' can enjoy some of what I can't stop playing!

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Kahuna-Reef-Game-Download-PC/dp/B001K7HV3Q/ref=pd_sim_vg_3

Dancer Friends Reunions and Showers....

2009-01-30T13:22:00.006-07:00

January has been a fun month to re-unite with my dancer friends from college! We had a reunion while Tara was in town from Hong Kong and a baby shower for Lori.

Our Girlie Girl

2009-01-19T18:01:00.008-07:00

Kenzie's personality has really bloomed over the past year. She is what I would call a "girlie girl".

Even in her PJ's she feels the need to be glamorous (notice the 'high heels').

She LOVES holding babies (her cousin Abigail in this pic.) and spends much of the day caring for her 6 baby dolls scattered around the house.

We visited our cousin's house on New Years and Kenzie came up the stairs dressed like this beaming from ear to ear saying "Pretty, pretty?"

We had a girls day with the Tillotson fam. and Kenzie got her nails painted for the first time and let me tell you, everyone got the hear about her "pretty fingers" for the next week. :-)

More dress-up with her cousin Livi

Outfit #3

and my fav. outfit # who-knows-what with her cousins Lexi & Livi.

Binky Free

2009-01-09T13:59:00.004-07:00

John and I have been talking about getting rid of Kenzie's binky for months now (I've been concerned about her front two teeth--they were starting to shift forward and out) and with a little encouragement (thanks Ashly!) we went for it! Cold Turkey--nothing fancy! I've heard about telling them the binky fairy needs the binkys for other babies or cutting the nipple so it doesn't have suction, but we thought it'd be better for her to just take it away. So we just put her to bed without it on Jan. 3rd and of course she had a fit and cried for 45 mins. but we stayed strong and eventually she went to sleep and slept all night without a prob. I was worried about the nap the next day but she only cried for 10 mins. or so and then went right to sleep. She'll occasionally ask about it but when she does I just pretend like she's asking for her "blanky" (which evidently sounds a lot like "binky") and give her her fav. blanket. (thanks Triscia!) I figure I'd rather have her attached to a blanket then a binky. So we're on day 7 and she besides the crying right before we put her down (she knows there's no binky waiting for her) she's been sleeping great! Yipee, no more binkies!!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-08T22:59:00.002-07:00

I LOVE taking pictures and I ended up taking over 150 pictures over Christmas! I went a little crazy but there was so much to document and I didn't want to miss a thing. Here's some of the favorite moments. :-)

LSAT Score

2008-12-31T13:18:00.002-07:00

As most of you read on our Christmas newsletter John has decided to go to Law School and took the LSAT on Dec. 6th. He got a 154! This score is not BYU worthy (the avg. score to get in there is like 165ish) and his chances to get into the U of U are slim (but still possible) but he still has a high likelihood of getting in a top 100 school so it looks like we'll be moving out of state. :-( The anxiety of not knowing WHERE we'll be moving to is the hardest part--we could end up anywhere from Wisconsin to Las Vegas to Kansas to Hawaii!

Merry Christmas!! Fam. Pic. & Christmas Newsletter

2008-12-26T09:13:00.005-07:00

Dear Family & Friends,

We hope this letter finds you and yours happy and healthy! We decided to do things a little differently this year and keep our newsletter short and sweet. So we’ve created a Top 10 List for you about all the ‘going-ons’ in the Tillotson Family in 2008.

10) John has been working at Farmers Insurance Group since April and has come to really enjoy it. His job has flexible hours which has provided a lot of family time. The company car and paid-for gas has also been a major perk.

9) Emalia’s been working part-time teaching dance at eMotion Dance Studio in Sandy. She gets to teach all the little munchin’s (2-7 yrs. olds) and she loves it! (most days anyway)

8) John, Emalia and Kenzie still live with the Arvidson’s (Blake, Aubrey [Em’s cousin] and their son Kurtis) in their basement apartment. Kurtis and Kenzie are like brother and sister with lots of love for each other and lots of fighting. They play, giggle and dance together on a daily basis.

7) Emalia has become a pro. Blogger.

6) John had become a ‘Commander’ in Halo 3 (for those of you who speak Halo).

5) Emalia has become a ‘runner’ and has run a 5K, a 10K, two half-marathons and one full Marathon! She’s quite addicted to running and finds it to be a great ‘stress-reliever’.

4) Kenzie has officially reached the ‘toddler’ stage with no bottles, a big girl bed and daily ‘melt-downs’ (we’re working on the binky—it may be a little while).

3) Emalia and Kenzie visited Tutu & Papa Shaw (Em’s parents) in Vancouver, WA for 2 weeks in July while John was in CA for work. They had such a fun time playing in the garden at home (eating gazillions of blueberries), going to the ‘Lavender Festival’ in Hood River, OR, playing in Portland, OR (Em’s favorite city besides Paris) and playing at the beach on the Oregon Coast.

2) Kenzie walks (& often runs), talks and displays all sorts of personality. She’s full of life (and giggles) and we love just being around her. We feel fortunate to be her parents and can’t wait to add more munchin’s to the family.

1) John has decided to continue his education and go to Law School! He took the LSAT on Dec. 6th but has not received his score yet. We’d like to stay in Utah so John can go to BYU or the U of U but that may not happen. (We’ll keep you updated about where we’ll be moving to.)

We love you all and hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Love, John, Emalia and Makenzie Tillotson

Super-Cutie-Pie-Kenzie

2008-12-17T22:00:00.009-07:00

We visited Santa last week and we also had some Christmas pictures taken of Kenzie. I have to say--they turned out pretty cute! She knew who Santa was right away. We walked up to him and she said "Hi Santa" with a big smile and waved at him. Of course when it came to actually sitting on his lap it was a different story as you can see. She got all shy and just stared at me like "Mom, Help me!"

Gingerbread Houses & The Festival of Trees

2008-12-12T22:18:00.010-07:00

We've had a fun start to the holiday season including a trip to the Festival of Trees and a Gingerbread House party with our family. Here's some fun pic.s:

We decided to call this Gingerbread Row.

One of my fav. trees covered with cute elfs. I don't know how these women put these trees together! They're all a little 'over-decorated' if you ask me.

This one was a surprise to me, Jana and Aubrey because it's a tree dedicated the Cullen's! Yes they are the vampires from the Twilight series that the three of us are slightly obsessed with. The whole tree was very inventive as were the gifts surrounding the tree including the plate for cookies for Santa below.

Here's a gingerbread house that's supposed to resemble Bella's house. If you notice that's Edward in the tree outside her house. We thought this one was hilarious!

Here's a tree that was drawing a lot of attention--it's made entirely out of glass!

Ahhhh...sweet boys. Here's Tanner (Jana's son) and Kurtis (Aubrey's son). They're buddies and sat like this for a good 20 min.s

A look back at November...

2008-12-08T22:14:00.017-07:00

So seriously....where does the time go? I blink and it's December...What?! So much to blog about, so little time. Here's some highlights from November. Most of these photos just speak for themselves. :-)

Someone got a hold of the tissue box and had a little fun.

My parents were in town for two weeks ane Kenzie got her Christmas present early!

So we have one small disagreement in our marriage....sad to say the 'Y' didn't make me very proud this year.

Party Time!

She's starting to look so old! Love that one dimple.

She's definitely a Daddy's girl.

Yes it really exists and this is what I ate most Thanksgivings growing up.

Here's a shot of the "stuffing".

Hoopiiaina Thanksgiving Get-together: Grama Hoop, Daren, Leah, Blake, Aubrey and Jessica

My cute Parents on the left and my Uncle Cory and girlfriend Sheri on the right.

The Tillotsons and Whites (including a very happy Miles on mom's lap)

My Dad and I right before we ran the Human Race 5K on Thanksgiving morning. It was so fun to finally run a race with my Dad!!

Look who's in a Big Girl bed......

2008-12-03T13:53:00.003-07:00

My parents got Kenzie a twin bed for Christmas and we got her the box spring, frame, and headboard. She LOVES having a big girl bed--she thinks she so big. ;-) So far (knock on wood) she's been sleeping REALLY well in it. The very first night she crawled out of bed once and I had to put her back in but she hasn't done it since and so far she hasn't fallen out of bed either. Hopefully this continues! :-)

Facebook & Twilight

2008-11-24T22:41:00.003-07:00

So I've been off in la-la land for the last couple weeks--I joined Facebook or FB if you're really into it. ;-) FB has been really occupying my computer time--it's about addicting as blogging was in the beginning. It's been really fun to reconnect with old and I mean OLD friends that I didn't even know still existed and friends I'd completely forgotten about. (hope that wasn't mean) It's been a fun few weeks though!! We (Aubs, Kirstin, Jana and I) had a girls night--went to dinner and saw Twilight. To be honest we were all expecting it to follow the book WAY more then it did and there were just so many scenes from the book I was looking forward to ( the field scene) that when the movie didn't deliver I wasn't that impressed and in fact a little disappointed. We all walked out a little dazed and confused. What movie did we just see? Why did we go? What were we thinking? After a couple days to let it sink in I know I just went into it with the wrong idea (movies rarely follow the book and 35 million really isn't that great of a budget hence the reason some of the special affects sucked). I want to give it another chance because so far EVERYONE I've talked to LOVES it. What did I miss? I guess I'll go have to find out. I do have to say Edward was played by a great actor and I thought he fulfilled his role well. Bella did OK but I think she not quite as 'frumpy' as I thought she would be. My fav. scene was definately the Baseball game and my fav. character was Alice. Ok enough Twilight.

Twilight Tickets SOLD

2008-11-18T15:56:00.001-07:00

We were able to sell all four tickets and we're going to go OPENING NIGHT!!! Can't wait. :-) My parents are also coming to town on friday and they'll be here for two weeks. I'm excited to spend some time with them both and for Kenzie to see her Tutu and Papa--it's been a while!

4 Twilight Tickets for Sale

2008-11-15T23:34:00.002-07:00

Hi Everyone! I have 4 tickets for sale ($8 each) for the movie Twilight.
Date: Next Saturday (Nov. 22)
Location: Jordan Commons (Megaplex 17)
Time: 7:45 pm

The seats are together on the right side closest to the aisle. If you check this link: https://www.megaplextheatres.com/showtimes/checkout/previewreserved.php?date=11222008&feature=10001570&perf=21075&th_code=0
You can find the seats: Row Q, seats 11-14

Let me know if your interested!!! :-)

Some Halloween Party Fun!

2008-11-08T23:02:00.004-07:00

We had a Halloween party the day after Halloween this year
(it just worked better for everyone). We decided to play
some games this year which turned out to be hilarious!
The first was an idea our cousin Leah gave us. We split up into
three teams, each team chose a 'victim' who's head was
covered with a shower cap and then covered with shaving
cream. Each team had a bag of fritos and we had to chuck
as many fritos at the victim's head as possible in 3 mins.
Let's just say... funny, messy and my team won (thanks
Kyle for letting us throw fritos at you). The next game we
let the boys dive into bowls of slimy spaghetti looking for
gummi worms and gummi bears. They were so competitive!
My hubby won, and besides braggin right he won a gag gift
of a candy 'snot nose' yeah....so gross. We decorated cookies
(the last picture is of my cookie family), hung out and laughed
a lot. Good times! :-)

Oh Sweet Sadie!

2008-11-04T16:31:00.004-07:00

So, I've been to their shows and there is SO much cute stuff, it's hard not to buy everything! And not just stuff for babies but for Mom's, for your home and lots more. I'm going on friday or sat. (nov. 14th & 15th) at Noah's if anyone wants to go with me! Let me know. If you can't see the info. below clearly check out their website: www.ohsweetsadie.com

Halloween!

2008-11-03T23:10:00.003-07:00

What a crazy Halloween weekend! We had so much fun
dressing-up (well, I had fun dressing Kenzie up!) I really
couldn't decide between two different costumes I gotten
her so she got to wear both! She was a Hula Girl for the
Boo at the Zoo and then a fairy princess for visiting family
and trick-or-treating. I was a devil and I even pulled out
the red lipstick just for the occasion (and I won't do it
again--it got everywhere!). John's not much into dressing
up so he was the same faceless scary grim reaper.

Kenzie picked up on the trick-or-treating really fast!
She'd walk right up to the door, wait for the person to
answer, attempt to say 'trick-or-treat' then carefully
choose one candy, put it in her basket, try for another
candy (which she usually got) attempt to say 'thank-you'
and 'bye-bye' and then leave. So stinkin' cute! Did I
mention she loved the candy and wanted more and more?
She was in high-heaven.

101st Post!! and I'm it.

2008-10-29T15:02:00.003-06:00

Holy cow so this is my 101st post!! It's crazy how much can happen in short period of time (and I usually only blog about the good stuff!). Oh and FYI for everyone somehow our computer got a nasty virus (ironically it was virus that pretended to be anti-virus software we were supposed to download). John is in the process of 'ghosting' our computer. So, I may not be blogging much until we get our computer up and running again. Sorry no pictures for a while :-(

Tara tagged me so here it goes...

What was I doing 10 years ago? 1998
1. I was 16 and a Sophomore in High School.
2. I was very busy dancing, dancing and dancing some more at the private studio I went to.
3. I had just started dating (well dating with my parents knowledge hahaha) and I was WAY into boys.
4. I had just got my driver's licence and I was driving my parent's mini van (named the "mother ship" by my friends) to school, and dance. (I remembering LOVING the new-found freedom)
5. This was the year I ditched my veganism and started going to Wendy's everyday for a Jr. Bacon Cheese Burger, fries and frosty. YUM!

5 things on my to do list today.
1. Teach dance to all my halloween dressed-up munchin's all morning.
2. Call my friends and let them know about the Halloween party we're having this saturday. You're ALL invited by the way!! Let me know if you can come! 6pm at the house.
3. Read a few chapters in my book "A Great and Terrible Beauty" (cheesey title but so far so good)
4. Send off a letter to my sister-in-law Betsy.
5. Catch up on a few of the TV programs Aubs and I are watching. (we have a date to watch the Biggest Loser tonight while the boys are at Young Men's)

5 favorite snacks.
1. Yogurt (yoplait any flavor)
2. A few oreos and a glass of Milk
3. Whatever candy I can get my hands on.
4. Bowl of cereal (my current fav. is Cinn. Toast Crunch)
5. and once in a while--a piece of fruit

5 jobs I've had.
1. Bagel Shop attendant (i did everything)
2. The BYU Games Center attendant
3. Server @ Ruby Tuesday
4. Bartender @ Ruby Tuesday (long story)
5. Dance Teacher

5 things I'd do with a million dollars.
1. Invest (well maybe not with the current economic status...)
2. Buy a house and pay it off
3. Buy a few cars and pay them off
4. Save lots for children's braces, missions, college etc.
5. Travel!

5 things that made me laugh this week.
1. Kenzie's giggle
2. The ADORABLE costumes my dance students wore to class this week.
3. My own clumsyiness--I've dropped several things this week including my phone, and kenzie's sippy cups (open and full of milk).
4. Good ol' America's Funniest Home Videos (one of my FAV. shows if I need a laugh)
5. When Kenzie pushed the door open when I was in the bathroom, pointed at me and said "pee-pee" and then grabbed way too much toilet paper and handed it to me.

5 people I tag:
1. Ashlee E.
2. Lori
3. Kazie
4. Jai-dee
5. Carrie K.

Gardner Village

2008-10-21T20:47:00.002-06:00

Last friday we ventured over to Gardner Village for the Little Witches Festival. I've never been so it was fun to see what all the excitement was about. It was PACKED! We had to drive around forever to get a parking spot and ended up out in the boonies. There were hundreds of Moms & kids all dressed up in their costumes. It was fun to see so many adorable costumes. The highlight was definitely the petting zoo. Kenzie loved being able to walk right up to an animal and touch it. Apparently these animals have been around a lot of kids because they didn't even flinch when the kids touched them. It was a fun exhausting day.

6 Quirks

2008-10-15T14:00:00.002-06:00

I've been tagged by my friend Carrie and I'm supposed to share 6 quirks about myself so here goes:

1) I have to make my bed every morning before I do anything else. I just don't feel like I'm ready for the day unless it's made.

2) I was raised a Vegan which basically means I didn't eat anything made from animals or animal by-products. I was raised on rice, beans, vegis, dried fruit, and rice cakes (the plain kind). Once in a while my mom would go all crazy and make cane-sugar sweetened cookies or cake but I wasn't a big fan (because they were missing the good stuff-eggs, white flour, butter and sugar). Holidays consisted of stuffed squash (instead of a turkey) or Tofurkey. I didn't eat meat for the first time until I was 9 which was ironically dry meat loaf--not the best experience. When I turned 16 and got my drivers' licence I started eating a Junior Chez. Burger and fries from Wendy's everyday. Let's just say I gained 20 pounds in one month (though I probably needed to gain some weight). I'm not vegan anymore though I mostly eat white meat and avoid red (except the occasional burger or steak). In my mother's defence my brother and I were the healthiest kids. We never went to the doctor because we were rarely sick and I sure it paid off to start out our lives with healthy eating habits.

3) Being deprived of watching TV as a kid (the only thing we watched was Star Trek) I'm a total TV junkie (who isn't these days?!). I love Reality TV and my current favorites are Jon & Kate Plus 8, Project Runway, America's next top model, Dancing with the Stars, The Hills, and The Biggest Loser:Families. My other TV favorites are Oprah, Ellen, The Office, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Samantha Who?, Lost, and Heros. Wow, I watch a lot of television! We have a DVR so I get to skip all the commercials so I doesn't take me long to watch my shows. I don't know what I would do without my DVR!!

4) I have an extensive bedtime ritual/routine that I have to do before I go to bed at night. It includes picking up Kenzie's toys, straightening up the pillows on the couch, making lunch for John for the the next day, cleaning up the kitchen, taking my contacts out, brushing and flossing my teeth, washing my face, going pee twice, putting on chapstick & often times lotion, praying, kissing John and saying "I Love You" several times. It annoys John but he's finally realized that I can't go to sleep without doing everything.

5) I LOVE taking pictures, blogging about them and/or printing them and then putting them in a photo album (I have SOO many photo albums). It's just so fun to look back at the years gone by and remember all the fun things we've been able to do and the memories we've made.

6) I'm a huge 'Tetris' fan and I could play it for hours and hours.

1st Snow of the Season

2008-10-12T12:58:00.005-06:00

I didn't get the chance to snap a picture of the beautiful white world we woke up to this morning but I just have to say that I LOVE waking up to the first snow of the season. I could go without freezing eveytime I walk out the door, the dangerous driving conditions and all the extra clothing it takes for us to just leave the house...but it's still worth it for the beauty!!

Oh and PS I need one more person interested in doing the "Pay it Forward" thing. All the info. is below...let me know if you'd like to join in! :-)

Pay It Forward!

2008-10-07T17:26:00.004-06:00

I recently received the cutest package from my friend Jen who has a fun food blog (http://www.delightfuldelicacies.blogspot.com/) as part of a thing she's a part of called "Pay it Forward". She sent me a bunch of homemade goodies including the prettiest flower for Kenzie or me (I wore it all day the day the package arrived because it happened to go with my outfit), two bookmarks and a pretty fall inspired card. I'm sure most of you saw Oprah's version on TV (loved it!) and this is like that but in 'blogsphere'. I'm copied the directions from Jen so here's how it works:

I agree to send something fun, cute, and nice to the first 3 blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and so on.

Unfortunately, due to postage costs, I can only pay it forward within the United States. If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 blog owners to leave a comment! You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link to me, and then send something to the first three people who comment on your blog so that this continues. Make sure you include your email address on your comment. I will email you a request for your shipping address and send out something that I hope will make you smile (and squee with glee)!

Free Handbag Giveaway!

2008-10-07T17:22:00.000-06:00

Check out Handbag Planet

They're hosting a free bag giveaway for the site launch.

Hope you win!!

Tillotson Look-alike Meter

2008-10-06T17:42:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Tillotson Get-together

2008-10-02T16:36:00.003-06:00

The first weekend in September was our nefew, Seth's baptizm. Seth asked John to give a talk and John did such a good job (even though he blubbered through the whole thing). It was so fun to get together and see everyone. Dede and Da'Na came into town to visit as well. It was a fun family weekend!

Marathon Mania!

2008-09-23T16:10:00.006-06:00

I did it!! Wow, it feels good to say that. Yes, I wanted to die and yes there were times I cried like a baby and yes I couldn't walk for the next few days but you know what?...It was SO worth it!! Thank goodness for Triscia--I don't know if I could have kept going those last few miles without her. The last 3 miles were definitely the hardest, I wanted to quit so badly! It took us 4 hours and 40 minutes which placed us right in the middle of our women's 26-30 yr. old division. The first half of the race was pretty easy, all downhill, beautiful scenery, lots to talk about and then the second half started to drag after mile 20. I was SO lucky though--John, Kenzie, Aubrey and my Mom all came up to cheer me on and it was so fun to have them there. :-) Triscia's husband Glen and her two boys were also along for the ride to cheer us on. They met us four different times, snapping pictures (Glen was our personal paparazzi) clapping, cheering and John even ran alongside me for a while on the last stretch. Overall, it was a great, challenging experience that I think will go right up there alongside having a baby (though I would take having a baby (with an epidural) over running a marathon any day). It feels good to look at my 'bucket list' and write a 'Check' next to 'Run a Marathon (and not die)'.

Me & Triscia in all our sweaty, 'trying to stay positive' glory mid-race

John with Kenzie on his shoulders running along with us cheering us on.

The gorgeous scenery we enjoyed on the drive up to Logan and on the run down the canyon.

Heck yea I got metal and wore it the rest of the day too! (well except at the 'World of Dance' performance I went and saw that night. I didn't really want to embarass myself--though I did carry it around and show it off to people ;-)

Dance Party!

2008-09-13T09:04:00.004-06:00

Check out this fun video of Kurtis and Kenzie dancing and having fun. :-)

Mama's newest creation

2008-09-13T08:51:00.006-06:00

My friend Kazie taught me how to make tutu's for little girls and this is my first attempt. Pretty cute huu?! It's suprisingly easy and once I got the supplies and sat down with them it took about 3 hours to make. Kenzie loves wearing it and says 'Tutu' all the time now. (Part of that is because my mom likes to be called Tutu because it means Grama in Hawaiian)

Kenzie, Kurtis and Aunt Kirstin dancing together.

Dance Party!! These two like to hold hands and boogie together. It's so fun to watch.

One Week and Counting!!

2008-09-13T08:38:00.004-06:00

Triscia and I run our Top of Utah Marathon NEXT saturday!! Wahooo! I am so excited and I'm actually feeling ready (I didn't know if I would at this point). But considering all the long mileage runs we've done and how hard we've trained I feel confident that this will be a great race and a great experience. I'm so excited! Thanks to everyone for their love and support--it helps me feel confident that I CAN do this!

I'm a Survivor!

2008-09-02T14:27:00.003-06:00

Who knew one could accomplish so much in one day?! I wasn't sure if I could but somehow I survived. Triscia and I are still training for our Marathon (3 weeks away!) and we ran 20 miles on saturday--it was insane. Triscia planned a really 'adventurous' 20 miles included lots of hills (which I now truely hate) and a run all the way up to the new Draper temple! Not only did the Gatorade and water that Triscia planted at mile 9 'disappear' (who knows who took it), Triscia dropped her phone and broke the display and I fell. Yes, it happens to the best of us and saturday was my day. When I was a server at Ruby Tuesday I always used to joke that you weren't really 'in the server club' until you spilled a drink (or a tray of drinks in my case) on a customer. Well, I feel like running and falling might be the same. You're not really 'in the runners club' until you get road-rash. Ok, maybe it's not true but let's pretend so I can feel better about my 'super-man slide in the middle of an intersection with who knows how many people watching' incident. In addition to the lovely road-rash on my elbow/forearm I also have really bruised and road-rashed knees and a pretty 4 inch by 4 inch area on the top of my thigh that's red/pink and scratched (like I was attacked by a cat). After my fall we still had 5 miles to go and let me tell you....those were the longest 5 miles EVER. I basically wanted to die but I was determined to not give up! So I forged onward and eventually made it home to cry, shower and eat an amazing breakfast John had made for me (I have such a sweet hubby).

After a 2 hour nap, more food and some crazy pills (well, lots of Ibuprofen) John and I dropped off Kenzie at my Aunt's house and headed down to the 'Sugar Space' so I could perform in the 'Bayles and Bott' dance concert called 'Habitat'. The concert went great (I was only in one piece thank goodness) and John, my mother-in-law Connie and my Aunt Deborah came to see the show. We enjoyed Iceberg shakes and onion rings after the concert thanks to my Aunt Debbie. YUM! I collapsed into bed and slept like a log--literally I don't think I moved once all night.

Farewell to the Carlsons!

2008-08-27T22:28:00.002-06:00

We attended a 'Goodbye' Party for Tara, OJ and Graham Carlson last friday and it was great to see everyone and give our final farewell to Tara & OJ before they left for China. Hong Kong, China to be specific--they're moving there for 3 years so that OJ can work and attend Hong Kong University. He just happens to speak Mandarin, though I found it interesting that the classes at the University are taught in English. Good Luck to you guys! We Love and will Miss you!!

Birthday Fun!

2008-08-27T22:27:00.001-06:00

Happy Baby Shower

2008-08-27T21:52:00.006-06:00

Nicci and I threw a Baby Shower for our friend Megan Halverson last saturday and it was so fun!! Megan is having a baby boy in the beg. of October and it will be her and Matt's first. One lady who came to the shower asked if Megan and I are were sisters--it must have been our curly hair. ;-)

Nicci, Megan, Me, & Nina. The group gift was a 'jogger'--and a really cool one at that! Megan said she tested this one out at Babies 'R' Us as her 'cart' and strolled around with it. She loves and we were happy we could get it for her. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

Aubrey & Megan

Nicci & Megan

July Washington Trip, Slideshow #1

2008-08-22T17:40:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning to post pictures from my trip to visit my parents back in mid-july and I'm finally getting around to it! We had such a fun two weeks. We stayed really busy!! Aubrey and Kurtis came to visit the second week.

July Washington Trip-Slideshow #2

2008-08-22T17:28:00.002-06:00

Swim Lessons

2008-08-15T12:29:00.004-06:00

We justed finished our three weeks of swim lessons for the babies (I really should start calling them toddlers) at Dimple Dell and it was a lot of fun!! Kenzie learned to blow bubbles in the water and kick her feet. They mostly just enjoyed being in the water and splashing around.

Kenzie with the swim instructor Sarah.

Kenzie & Kurtis looking cute!

Kurtis & Sarah.

Aubrey, Kurtis, Kenzie and Me (blindingly-white as can be)

Provo River Half-Marathon

2008-08-12T12:28:00.002-06:00

We did it!! All 13.1 miles :-) It was fun, and the run was just beautiful. My offical time was 2 hrs. & 9 mins. but Triscia and I don't trust their time because we didn't pass the start line until 3 mins. or so after the race (and time) had started. So we've decided our time was more like 2 hrs. 6 mins. which is a great time and I'm happy with it. I was just happy to finish!!! Let the Marathon training begin. We're going to run 16 miles this saturday!! ekkkkk!

Pigtails and Silly Grins!!

2008-08-05T16:17:00.007-06:00

After swimming lessons today I gave Kenzie a bath and discovered her hair is long enough to do this:

This is the typical 'cheeser' smile Kenzie likes to give us now-a-days when she's feeling sassy. (don't mind the baby cleavage) ;-)

MARATHON!!

2008-07-31T14:38:00.002-06:00

So it's offical, my family think I'm taking "crazy pills" because I want to run a Marathon and my my good friend and running partner Trisica is going to run it with me (this will be her second). We are going to run the "Top of Utah" marathon up in Logan on Sept. 20th. That gives me 6 weeks after my second Half-Marathon on Aug. 9th to prepare for it. I just keep telling myself--you're half-way there, why not just go for the whole shabang!!?! I know we have baby-making plans for the future and I don't know when I'll get an opportunity to do this again so why not now? Yes, I maybe crazy but what an accomplishment that would be for me!? I think it'll be worth it--if anything at least I'll get a metal out of the ordeal (which, by the way, I believe ever hospital should give a new mother after they deliver a baby)!! ;-)

http://www.topofutahmarathon.com/welcome

Visiting Ashleigh in Provo

2008-07-23T15:54:00.001-06:00

Tillotson Family Gathering

2008-07-23T15:31:00.001-06:00

We're Back! Catching up: 4th of July Fun!

2008-07-22T10:18:00.001-06:00

Wisdom Teeth.....

2008-07-05T16:13:00.002-06:00

So...It's been a while since I've updated and I swear I have a really good excuse--I got my wisdom teeth removed on wed. (yes two days before the 4th, what was I thinking) and I'm really loopy and drugged up right now. I have lots of pictures to share and so many fun events to talk about. So when I get better (which better be soon because I leave for Washington to visit my parents on tues.) I'll update!! :-)

Kenzie's newest 'life experiences'

2008-06-20T08:07:00.003-06:00

So our little Kenzie is has been learning and experiencing some new things lately. First off, her elbow got disconnected last week and that was NO fun at all. I was teaching dance and Aubrey was watching her and Kurtis. Apparently a little neighborhood girl was trying to help Kenzie up some the stairs to the front door and just happened to pull a little too hard on her arm popping her elbow out of joint. When Aubrey called to tell me what happened I had to leave teaching dance immediately (which put the studio director in a pickle, but she was very understanding and concerned) and drive up to our doctors to meet aubrey there with a very fussy Kenzie. So long story short, our doctor 'tried' to pop her elbow back into place 4 times (every time Kenzie screamed and cried), then got another doctor to try and pop it back into place because she wasn't having much luck. He tried once, thought he popped it back into place, but she wouldn't use it (babies usually start using it again right away after it's popped back in). They decided to do an x-ray just to make sure there weren't any hair-line fractures or anything and the x-ray came back fine. Our doc. decided to try one more time and thought she heard a pop so we hung out a while and then decided to head home and she how Kenzie did at home. That was a rough night because every time she rolled on it she cried out in pain. :-( so sad to hear your babies 'pain' cry and not be able to really do anything. That was the most heart-breaking part of this whole thing--hearing my babies 'pain' cry over and over again. The next day she was very careful with her arm but eventually started using it and went back to normal after a few days.
:-) thank goodness. So was that supposed to be the short version?? ;-) hahahha

Anyway, some of her other recent "firsts" include the words: doggie, (usually followed by hooohooohooo because she thinking all animals make the sound of an owl), auby (her favorite person besides mama and dada), baba (bottle), and baby (my parents got her her first baby dolls). She's also become quite the dare-devil and likes to climb as high on everything as possible. Chairs are for climbing up on (thank goodness the one in the picture is surprisingly stable), mom and dad are her jungle gym, and if she can get up on the couch or any other furniture she will climb as high as she can and then turn around to see who's watching and smile and laugh. Her challenges (challenges for mom anyway) include: being an extremely picky eater (carbs, dairy, some fruit, anything sweet and pb & j's are the only things she'll eat), swatting/hitting everyone that gets too close to her face or does something she's not happy about, hitting herself on the head (is that normal??), and throwing little tantrums when she doesn't get her way (she flops herself on the floor and then throws her head back--it's quite hilarious actually). On the positive side she's an great sleeper (bed from 9:30pm -10ish am, and nap from 1:30-4:30ish), and she's very loving--hugs and kisses for everyone. Her little personality is really coming out a lot and it's fun to see her develop into a little person. I just love being a Mom. :-)

End-of-the-Year Dance Concert

2008-06-16T16:53:00.002-06:00

I teach dance at eMotion dance studio in Sandy and I love it!! (most days anyway) We just had our end-of-the-year dance concert last sat. and it was so fun. I was proud of all my little dancers-they did so good. I'm looking forward to teaching what I'm going to call the "Children's Division" next year. I'll be teaching all the little ones at eMotion, tues. and wed. mornings. Aren't the girls costumes adorable?!

Whitney's Baby Shower

2008-06-08T13:32:00.002-06:00

Yipee for baby showers!! It was so awesome seeing my dancers friends last thurs. at Whitney's baby shower. She's totally got the preggy-glow and she is looking so beautiful. Only one month to go! You can do it Whitney! It was great to see Lisa's little, well now, big twin boys. They are so cute!! Kenzie was extra friendly and silly at the shower and made friends with lots of people.

Visiting the Twins

2008-06-08T13:26:00.002-06:00

We got to go see our new tiny, sweet nieces last week and it was so fun to hold them and feed them. We loved seeing Josh and Kim, all the other kids. :-) They've growen so much since we saw them last. (the kids that is) Kim looked amazing for only running on 3-4 hours of sleep. What a trooper she is. I'm looking forward to helping them in the coming weeks while they're here in UT.

Natasha & Abigail Tillotson

2008-06-01T22:30:00.003-06:00

On May 22nd my sister-in-law Kim Tillotson gave birth to two beautiful baby girls!! Natasha (5 pds 5 oz) & Abigail (5 pds.). Aren't they just precious!? They both have down syndrom (it's very rare for both twins to have it) but are healthy and strong. John and I both believe that Heavenly Father knew that Josh and Kim were the only parents special enough be gifted such angels. They are such amazing parents and these girls couldn't have been born into a better family. Congrats to John and & Kim! We love you!!

Running Maniac

2008-06-01T15:56:00.003-06:00

So it's offical I'm totally hooked on running. My cousin Laura suggested I run the Provo River 10K with her on the 31st and it was so awesome. I loved running up the canyon with the cool breeze...well, strong winds, none-the-less refreshing. There were about 152 runners, so it was small but that kept it nice and none-crowded--nothing compared to the craziness of the Odgen half. I pushed myself a little more this time since I knew I only had 6.2 miles to run (instead of 13.1) and I ended up running it in 54 mins. & 32 sec.s and placing 56th out of 152 with an average mile/min. of 8:48. That's a good inprovement from my half-marathon so I'm proud of myself. :-)

Red Butte Garden

2008-06-01T15:39:00.002-06:00

Have you ever been to Red Butte Garden? It's so cool! I'd never been because I didn't even know it existed. It's tucked up in the Foothill area of North Salt Lake. It's kinda by Hoggle Zoo only north/west of the zoo. It's a beautifully manicured garden with everything from a children's garden with a cool snake maze and water fountains to an herb garden, and a 'pond' with waterfalls & fish and ducks to feed. I went with my cousin Laura and her two kids, John (who happened to have the day off), my mom, Aunt Deborah, and Kurtis and Kenzie. We're watching Kurtis this weekend because Aubrey and Blake are off celebrating their 5 year wedding anniversary in Las Vegas. The kids loved the garden, especially the little snake maze and the water fountain that shoots water really high. They passed out on the car ride home--I love sleeping babies. :-)

Iosepa Weekend

2008-06-01T15:30:00.002-06:00

We spent Memorial Weekend enjoying the outdoors in Skull Valley at our annual Iosepa Weekend. Iosepa means Joseph in Hawaiian. Most of you know I'm 1/4 Hawaiiam, specifically Samoan/Portugese. Every year my whole family goes out to the place of our ancestors to celebrate their lives and to honor them through celebrating our Hawaiian Heritage. There are crafts and dance performances all day saturday as well as a huge Luau with authentic Kalua pork. That night there's a huge youth dance (which all my girl cousins and I attend and dance like we're teenagers again) with home-made scones and hot chocolate. We had a wonderful time...well, minus the stomach flu I got on the last day. Thankfully I'd sent Kenzie home with John on Sat. night so I was able to just curl up the R.V. (close to the toliet) and read all morning till we left for home. I always look forward to Iosepa because it's the one weekend a year that I actually feel Polynesian and feel like a part of something so awesome.

Trip to Hoggle Zoo!

2008-05-26T20:51:00.002-06:00

Good times at the Zoo! This was the first time I've ever been to Hoggle Zoo and I was so impressed! The kids loved it!! The really loved being outside, and they enjoyed watching the monkey's the most. Aubrey & I enjoyed it so much we split a season pass so we can go a lot this summer.

Trip to Montana

2008-05-26T19:40:00.002-06:00

My parents have been in town for the month of May so we've been really busy! We drove to see my Grama Vi in Sheridan, MT the second week in May and we had a fun time. Well...for the most part. Kenzie got a nasty flu/cold bug that showed up on day 2 in montana and lasted most of the trip. She was not feeling well at all and made sure we all knew it. Besides the long nights, stuffy noses, and overall fussiness we had a great time!! ;-) My Grama lives way out in the middle of no where and in the country the pace of life is so much slower. I liked it, but the days seemed to last much longer. The biggest highlight most days was 'going to town' to get some grocheries, mail a letter or get a donut from the local bakery. It reminded me how different life can be when you live in a small town.

Yipee! My 1st Half-Marathon

2008-05-20T10:17:00.002-06:00

I did it! I accomplished my goal and it feels so good :-) I had a ton of fun with the girls from my ward who also ran the Ogden Half-Marathon. We went out to dinner the night before and then spent the night in Kaysville with Paige's sister Whitney. We got bed way too late and had to get up at 3:40am to catch the shuttle to the top of the canyon. I think I got 3 hours of sleep. Oh well, thanks to Paige blasting Sir. Mix-a-lot's "I like big butts and I cannot lie" on the car ride to Ogden it got my adenaline going and I felt great. The run started at 7am and Triscia and I stuck together for the whole race. The first part of the run was uphill, we called it the "humbler". Once you got up that it all downhill and flat from there, which was SO nice to run. The scenery was gorgeous and we enjoyed the cool canyon breeze. I finished the race in 2 hrs 7 mins. which I feel great about! That puts me at a 9.65 min. mile which is right where I trained at. The last stretch was the hardest--those last 2 miles felt like forever and Triscia and I had to walk a lot, but we both finished off strong and ran across the finish line. I even got a metal! (well, all finishers got metals ;-) I'm totally hooked and plan to keep running this summer, in fact I going to run the Brical Veil falls 10K in Provo with my Dad, and cousin Laura on the 31st!

Pretend Phone talk & "Uh-Oh"

2008-05-01T14:57:00.004-06:00

So this has to be one my favorite things Kenzie's doing now-a-days. She loves phones and likes to pretend shes talking on them. She sees mom & dad doing it a lot. Cara even got her to say "Hi" once. Her new favorite thing to say is "Uh-Oh" when she drops things. Sometimes I think she drops things on purpose just so she can say it. :-)