Florida Christmas 2010

If you didn't catch on earlier, this was our first Christmas away from extended family and just the 4 of us. It was bitter sweet, as I'm sure you can imagine. We all slept in until about 10 am, and then got the video camera ready to record the morning/day with the girls. They came down to enjoy their stockings and gifts from Santa. Thanks to my dad, we also got to enjoy my favorite Christmas breakfast, svenhard cinnamon rolls! We took our time, all day, let the girls open a few gifts, play with them, watch one of their movies, take a nap, and open some more. I think we finally finished about 4:00 in the afternoon. It was a pretty mellow day. After the last gift was opened, we decided to take advantage of the 75 degree Florida weather and go swimming at a Disney Marriott Resort. The pool was cooler than we expected though so we just hung out in the spa for awhile and then went home to make delicious tacos for dinner. A pretty simple and humble Christmas, but one to be remembered for sure!

The girls were spoiled thanks to family and Santa and we were grateful :) We focused more on videotaping that morning so we have few pictures... but the ones we do have can be enjoyed!

To: Maylee From: Santa

To: Brooklynn From: Santa

Loving her new princess power wheel car... she tried to drive it but couldn't quite get the hang of it. She would push the peddle and then take her foot off it, and she rarely had her hands on the wheel- too funny. So the car sat in the living room for a week and she happily played inside of it everyday. It's since gone outside, but we still try to enjoy it on the patio when the weather is nice.

A princess chair just for Brooklynn... she loves it!

I imagine it sitting in the sand on future Laughlin trips with the family!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve we continued with our usual traditions... opening one gift- christmas pj's, reading "The Night Before Christmas", and leaving out milk and cookies for santa.

We're all ready for Santa!

The Girls in their new Christmas jammies/slippers and socks.

"Big Sister" and "Little Sister"

Brooklynn and Maylee's new stockings for our Florida Christmas.

Helping make cookies for Santa... yes that is packaged cookie dough- shoot me :)

The greatest blessing Christmas Eve was being invited to the Howse's home in our ward for dinner. There were a few other families there and we enjoyed a ham dinner with sweet potatoes, fruit salad, and desserts galore. All the kids then dressed up and acted out the Christmas story- Maylee was Baby Jesus, and Brooklynn was one of the Wise Men, and she was so excited to bring her "sister" a gift!

We were so grateful to have dinner with our new friends, as it was our first Christmas away from our extended family and I wasn't in the mood to cook a big feast for only Paul and I to really eat :)

Maylee Kate's 1st Birthday!

I can't believe we've had Maylee in our lives for a year now. She has not only taught me that love can grow exponentially, but my heart has the capability to love another as much as the first. This girl has probably received well over a million kisses in her first year of life, hands down! She reminds me a lot of her big sister, Brooklynn, while at the same time being her own completely different little person. She has this beautiful smile, with dimples that melts my heart every time! I love her more than I can even handle at times. The world is at her feet and I hope I can give her enough, and be enough of the mother she needs to thrive in this world around her. I have no doubts the Lord has big plans for her and I feel so blessed he trusted me to rear and guide her while accomplishing those plans. Happy 1st Birthday my Maylee Kate. We love you so much!

For her Birthday, we originally planned to have the missionaries over for dinner and a little celebration, but they woke up sick that morning and had to cancel :( So we tried to scramble and invite another family over, but it was too late notice. As much as I would have loved to give her a huge birthday bash, it turned out just being the 4 of us. We opened some of her gifts and then went to dinner at Steak 'n Shake. Once we got home, we sung to her and blew out her candle before letting her make a mess with her cake. She loved it and really got into it (more than B did on her 1st birthday). We missed having family and friends around, but loved to watch our little ones smile and laugh :)

Next year we owe you a big celebration Maylee... and mark my words you'll get one! Love you.

Wearing the "Birthday Girl" hat her sister has warn too!

Opening and playing with her gifts.

Dinner at Steak 'n Shake!

My goofy little girl.

Okay okay... I am no Betty Crocker. But this was a delicious cake... Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting. It served it's purpose :)

Slowly and timidly grabbing the cake... and smearing it on her belly.

What a mess!

And totally on her own.

Happy Bday girl!

All cleaned up!

The bath water turned pink from the red velvet cake all over Maylee,

Brooklynn said, "Look mom, it's a strawberry bath!"

Here are some fun facts about our Big One Year Old! (I'll work on her stats)

- She loves to dance to music. She pushes her push walker on the floor to get it to play its music so she can dance- so cute!

- She loves to sing too. In church she holds the hymn book and sings loud, along with waving her arm like the chorister.

- She is DADDY'S GIRL 100%. She almost hyperventilates with excitement when she sees him or hears his voice

- She signs more, please, and all gone.

- She can lit her arms up for "So Big".

- She loves to give open mouth kisses, and tries to eat your face... literally.

- She loves to play a game with her binki and try to put it in your mouth, like we do with her. Se gets a good kick out of it and laughs out loud.

- She is still not that interested in standing or walking, but she is making progress with walking along furniture and with her push walker.

- We call her out little "porker" because the girl eats, and eats, and eats. She thinks she is hungry at all times. (We can't get Brooklynn to eat, and we can't get Maylee to stop eating...haha). She literally shoves food in her mouth as if she is starving, every time we feed her.

- She is in that stage where dropping things on the floor is funny and does it just to see us pick it up.

- She is still such a little snuggle bug. She loves to be held and will let anyone hold her (this is why Uncle Cody got so attached to her before he left on his 2 year mission).

- She can always be found climbing the stairs. It's her favorite thing to do these days and gives mommy and daddy a heart attack. We try to keep her off as much as possible, but at least she has a big sister to stand behind her as she climbs.

- This girl is OBSESSED with the bath. She squeals and kicks her feet the moment we turn the water on and start to take her clothes off. Her and Brooklynn have so much fun together everyday in the bath.

- She has become quite interested in the toilet water since we started potty training Brooklynn, and we spent a good portion of our day in the bathroom :)

- She has discovered cabinets and loves to get into them... especially the one in mommy's bathroom- guess there are lots of goodies in there.

- She loves Bananas, although she hated any baby food with bananas in it.

- She also loves oatmeal, yogurt, and peas!

- She loves her silky pink blanket, just like big sister.

- Sleeps 14 hours at night, and takes 2 naps a day for at least 2 hours each!

- She ALWAYS pulls out her bows, clips, or rubber-bands in her hair.... it is so difficult to have her hair look like a girl at all times. I do it, but it lasts until the first moment I take my eyes off of her (usually in her car seat in the car).

- She has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on the bottom).

- At one year, she has 3 Great Grandpa's, 5 Great Grandma's, 2 Grandpa's, 3 Grandma's, 5 Uncles, 6 Aunts, 1 sister, and 5 cousins (with one more on the way).

Downtown Disney Adventures

One of the first things we did when we got to Florida was take Brooklynn down to Downtown Disney. She loved it so much we can hardly wait to take her to Disneyworld (which we are finally doing this week for her 3rd birthday!). We just walk around and she loves to look at all the statues of the characters and take pictures with them (yes she asks to take pictures with them, we don't make her- although I would if she didn't already want to do it herself). Surprisingly she is really good at going in all the stores too and NOT throwing tantrums to buy something. She likes to play with the legos, Mr. Potato Heads, and look at all the pretty lights. It's a great family evening out and we have taken advantage of it on several occasions... just to get out of the house!

Cinderella

She loves Buzz since seeing Toy Story 3!

Brooklynn is unfamiliar with mustaches...

She adored these 2 large snowmen!

The tall dragon- made out of legos!

Christmas Disney Style is beautiful!

There is a Cirque De Solei (spelling?) show playing at Downtown Disney and this is their store. We laughed so hard watching B try on all the masks.

Paul was in love with this Viper. He swears one day he will own one...we'll see.

The Hot Wheels shop was a big hit!

B is still Paul's #1 girl... but Maylee is creeping in quickly!

B was so excited about these two... Mickey and Minnie!

Mr. Potato Head again!

We can't forget Buzz again either!

Building her own Mr. Potato Head. She was really just putting a bunch of little things in the bum! That's her thing these days, using containers to carry things.

Hanging out, enjoying all the scenery.

DOn't you want to pinch and kiss those cheeks!?

She is our snuggler... and daddy's girl!

Harley Shop. We waited at least 10 minutes for our turn to take a picture. But I had to get Paul on here with his 2 girls!

B didn't want to stand in line to see Goofy Santa, but we took a picture from afar!

Home Sweet Home.... Kissimmee, Florida

Well we arrived in Florida on the 1st of December, after a long red eye flight. Thankfully we flew Jet Blue and Brooklynn had a tv to watch, and the girls slept most of the night. We had to change planes in New York, but we only had 40 minutes to catch it. Since our flight was about 5 minutes late and then we had to wait for our stroller, we missed or connection (as did everyone else). So we were stuck in the New York airport for a few hours. There was much people watching, a little sleeping, and eating with the coupons jet blue gave us to apologize for the inconvenience. It was a bummer for us, but worked out well for Paul since he had only arrived a few hours earlier in Florida after his long 3 day, non-stop, drive. Our delay gave him more time to sleep. Daddy picked us up at the Orlando airport and we were so excited to be together in Florida finally and to start our journey together. Because of our missed connection, they lost Brooklynn's carseat (which we got back a few days later), but we spent a good hour in the baggage claim waiting and filling out all the paperwork. A nice worker gave Brooklynn one of those HUGE mickeymouse balloons from Disneyworld and she loved it. Surprisingly- a month and a half later- it still has a little life left.

Paul drove us around for a bit to show us things and then we went to our hotel. We decided to stay in a hotel for awhile to give me some time to really find a place for us to live. However, we get this great deal with Marriott hotels (through a friend), but you can only stay a few nights at a time so we had to move hotels after a few nights... a huge pain, because we also had all our stuff with us. Paul had to take all our stuff (that filled the car completely) to the new hotel and then come back to get the girls and I (after we had already checked out of our room, so the girls and I hung out in the lobby for 2 hours!) Needless to say I got anxious real quick to find a place for us to move in to. Come to find out we didn't have very many options that fit the criteria of what we needed. We needed a four bedroom (one extra room for Paul's business partner, Andrew, to stay in when he comes for 10-14 days every month), fully furnished place with a 6 month lease. Every place wanted at least a year lease, except for one, so we took it (especially considering we were about to have to find another hotel to move to). I liked it at first, but not anymore. Let me complain for just a bit. It's probably because it's a rental and not MY home. I don't have my things and no matter how much I clean it NEVER feels clean. I serious walk around with socks or shoes on at all times. I had to wash EVERYTHING... linens, towels, pillows, couch cushions, the works because they all felt so dirty, and still do at times. We have our own private pool but its empty. The owner is trying to get a crack in it fix and is having problems with the insurance company. We don't have a garage or a pantry- yes a pantry, so my food is in a box in the coat closet- what a pain. Also we live in a gated vacation resort so we don't have neighbors really- just tourists that come and go and most of them don't speak english. Also with living in a vacation resort we don't have a mailbox. They bring everyone's mail to the clubhouse everyday and we have to go sort through it all to find anything with our name on it. Anyone could take our mail at any time- lovely :) Then because Kissimmee is mostly made up of tourists (vacation rentals), everything has to be in the owner's name. So it took us FOREVER to get utilities set up, including internet (which I just got yesterday). And our tv is just basic cable and there is only one company that services this community and they don't offer any upgrades or dvr services... can you believe that? For those of you who really know me, you know what a dilemma this has been for me. We could get a satellite but they require a 24-month lease and since we will only be here for 6 months the owner/management company wont do it for us :( Grumpy Ashley FOR SURE.

BUT.... we are only 10 minutes to Disneyworld, 20 minutes to Sea World and Universal Studios. There really is a ton to do here, but of course it all costs an arm and a leg- except for Downtown Disney, which we have done several times and the girls just love it!

When we first got here, I was busy getting settled in and preparing for Christmas- our first Christmas away from family and just the 4 of us- and Maylee's first birthday. We got to know a lot of people in our new ward and even got invited over for Christmas celebrations- one even included us over for Christmas Eve dinner. It was very nice. But once that was all over I had the blues for a few days... felt really lonely, sad, and even angry at times that we were here. I tried to find the positive, but in all honesty it is a daily struggle. The last week or so has been better and we have a lot of things to look forward to, which has helped! But we are here, supporting our daddy, spending time together as a family, and doing our best to get involved with our ward. Paul is loving it, while it is slowly growing on me. He has been called to teach the 17 and 18 year old Sunday School Class in our ward, and he goes out with the missionaries at least once a week. I am still waiting for a calling, but have gotten to know some really nice ladies in the ward. I've joined them for a play date, had the missionaries over for dinner, and been involved as much as possible with the ward. We spoke in church the day after Christmas, and I actually enjoyed that. I have high hopes for the future. It is nice to finally be together as a family all the time, and for Paul to be able to do his work without traveling.

Here is Brooklynn happily hanging out in hotel #1:

Ready to go to Downtown Disney:

Somersault... she is actually pretty good at it.

Thanksgiving 2010

After moving out of our Highland Home, we stayed with my cousin, Lana, and her family in Orem for about 10 days and then we headed up to Logan to spend Thanksgiving with the Giddings Gang. Paul flew into Utah from Florida the week of Thanksgiving and after picking him up at the airport we got to spend an evening alone together and stay in a hotel (a big Thanks to Aunt Joanna again who kept both our girls in Logan) to celebrate our 5th anniversary together. It was a much needed night! Then we picked up the last of our stuff out of our basement in Highland and headed back to Logan. The ENTIRE Giddings family was together for Thanksgiving and it was great to spend the time together. We went bowling (I was the winner), sledding, played a few games, decorated Mama and Papa's Christmas tree (a yearly Thanksgiving tradition), took family pictures, watched football and movies, and ate a lot of food. We survived a crazy blizzard, and FREEZING temperatures. All the kids get along so well, and I truly love to watch Brooklynn play with her aunts and uncles and cousins. It was a treasured holiday together. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Paul took off with our car packed FULL to make the long drive to Florida. A few days later, the girls and I flew to join him. The move was bitter sweet, and still is- more to come about that on the next post.

Family Pictures in the FREEZING cold! But we had to take advantage of us all being together.

From Left to Right: Baby Zach and Josh, Cassie and Violet, Brooklynn and me, Paul and Maylee, Anna (Paul's sister), Lauren (Paul's sister), Adam (Paul's brother), Trey and Krista (Paul's sister), Tayler, Kye, Mom and Dad.

It's quite the gang!

Love them all.

Just our little Giddings Family.

Mama and Papa with ALL the Grandkids and Great Grandkids!

Dad with his 3 SILLY, ROUGH, boys. Seriously, Paul and Josh love to mess with Adam and it ALWAYS gets out of control rough! Poor Adam, but secretly I think he LOVES it :)

Brooklynn helping to decorate Mama's tree. She LOVES putting on the ornaments. This year she could do it all on her own, and she didn't want to stop. Luckily Mama has a thousand ornaments (no exaggeration).

My happy Maylee girl.

I warned these two- once again- but of course they always give UGLY faces!

I love, love, love this picture of these two. Wish we lived closer so they could spend more time together. I think we are growing on Violet though- although Maylee is undoubtedly her favorite!

Maylee was so excited to have a friend to play with that's her size-literally (even though Zach is 5 months younger than Maylee).

My favorite.

Obsessed with all these fun pictures of these two babies. I imagine when they are older they will treasure these as well.

Apparently Maylee wanted to give Zach Zach the hand- what a brat... he wasn't bugging her.

Look at those tongues!

Brooklynn in 7th heaven.

Loving her some Aunt Krista. Seriously I love my sister, Krista :) She's the best!

Maylee making her contribution to Mama's tree. Mama gets an ornament for every couple and the kids, every Christmas to put on her tree and on ours :)

Love any pics with Daddy and his girls.

No lie... Maylee is SUCH a daddy's girl (which is so nice because Brooklynn has always been and still is a Mommy's girl).

Playing with and loving her daddy- the highlight of her day... and his :)

All ready to sled.

Daddy pulling Anna and Brooklynn.

The girls ready to go do a 2nd Thanksgiving at Aunt Krista's with crazy Grandma (Paul's mother). It was fun too- the first time she has been with all her kids and grandkids at the same time :)

Maylee snuggling with Gramps. She got really sick the last few days we were in Logan. I think she was dehydrated and cutting teeth. She ran a high fever and slept pretty much non-stop. We were really worried about her, but all is well now.

Thanksgiving was full of great memories and we are so glad we were able to be there with everyone...especially because the next week, Gramps, left for Afghanistan for a year. We will miss him, and we keep him in our prayers that he will stay safe and return home soon :)