To, Too, TWO!

Yale turned two earlier this month. I know. We have a toddler. I was actually pretty excited about his birthday, because it's felt like I've had a toddler for months now, but I didn't like thinking of him as a toddler until he hit two. We didn't do much for his birthday. We had just gotten back from Chicago and my brother's wedding, and Lish's dad came into town a couple days later. We kept it low key. And it was perfect.

We took Yale on an adventure to see some waterfalls. That's always a success. Then we had some yummy mac and cheese (his fav) for dinner, and some cupcakes and presents with our neighbors. Yale got a couple trains, plus a giant Christmas train, and some other toys and clothes, so he was completely happy. It was so fun to watch his reaction to his new gifts and to see how he ate all of the frosting off the cupcake before eating the cupcake. What a silly little guy.

As far as the things Yale is doing lately, can I just say everything? He is a little parrot and a little daredevil. At his doctor's appointment, the doc asked how many words Yale knows. I just looked at him and said, "I have no idea." He is talking in sentences now and it's so fun to hear what comes out of his mouth and what he connects with what. I love watching that brain work. He loves jumping, somersaulting, running, falling purposefully, coloring, watching basketball, and so much more. He also loves cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, and anything else that moves. We love him so much and are so blessed to have him in our lives! He brings us so much joy!

We Get Another Sister

I forgot that I am still catching up on our adventures. When we left Chicago, Yale and I stayed up in the Salt Lake area to be with family before my little brother got married. My brother, Troy and his wife, Beth, from Alaska were in town, so it was really fun to get to spend some time with them. My stepsister, Whitney, was also in town, and I hadn't seen her for almost a year, so it was really fun to get to catch up with her. Yale and I spent so much time with family and we got to see a few of my friends as well. We stayed with my dad for a couple days during the work week, so we got a lot of time with Whitney and her son Cash. Yale loved getting to play with Cash, and Cash learned a lot about sharing. It was good times.

Lish drove up and met us on Thursday and it was so great to be with him again. That same day he got in, my oldest brother and his family flew in. The day before the wedding we had planned a big family lunch with all the siblings and stepsiblings and kids and even the grandparents made it. The only one missing was Whitney's husband, Collin. We missed him. But it was so fun to have that whole group together and catch up and just be together. I don't know when the next time for all of us to be together again will happen.

Then there was a wedding. My little brother married his beautiful wife, my new sister. We're so happy to have her be a part of our family. They are wonderful together and the wedding was beautiful. It was amazing to be in the temple for their ceremony and have all my siblings and their spouses there. What a wonderful experience! They held their reception in the afternoon, which was actually pretty nice. It was fun to have the evening to spend with the family and just get to hang out and relax and play games (nix Kyle and Chelsea, of course).

The day after the wedding we headed down to Karen and Scott's for a late brunch, which would be called a lunch, but we had brunch food, so I'll stick with the brunch title. Our good friend, Brian, and his wife and new baby were in town from Spain. We hadn't met his wife or his baby yet, so they came up for brunch and it was so great to finally meet Noemi and Leo. What a great way to end a wonderful trip!

A Chicago Thanksgiving

So, I'm still catching up here. I almost wanted to skip ahead and get right to Yale's birthday. That's right. He had another birthday. He's 2. But, I'm keeping with the correct timeline of things, so I'll get to that soon.

Our family took quite a large trip recently. Yale was gone for the longest. Lish and Yale took off to Chicago a few days before I did. I know. I got a few days all to myself and I didn't have to travel with a toddler. It was pretty great, but pretty strange at the same time. I missed my baby. I missed Lish too, but we've spent time apart before. Yale and I haven't ever spent more than 24 hours apart. I cried the whole way home from the airport, and that first day was hard, but after that I kept myself way too busy. I don't even remember what I did, but I was productive.

Lish had to leave earlier than me because of his ASC conference. He had to present and offered to take Yale with him since I always take Yale with me when we part ways. Plus, we knew after Thanksgiving that I'd be staying in Salt Lake with my family and Yale would be with me. I didn't go out to Chicago at the same time as them because of the baby girl I babysit. I didn't want to leave for 3 weeks, especially knowing we'll be gone again for Christmas.

Anyway, Lish and Yale stayed with Lish's sister and brother-in-law. They seemed to have such a fun time, letting the little cousins play and getting to visit. I flew in the same day as Lish's mom and stepdad, and Lish's grandparents flew in a few hours after us. It was a party in Chicago! We had such a great time visiting with everyone, watching the kiddos try to share, getting to see the two Yale's together again and so on. We walked around the University of Chicago's campus, went to the Museum of Science and Industry, visited the Shedd aquarium, went to the zoo, visited my aunt and uncle in Naperville, ate some yummy deliciousness, walked the Magnificent Mile, and did a bunch of other stuff I can't remember I'm sure.

As per usual, enjoy the visuals!

Color Me Silly

I have a lot to catch up on, such as my 4 days without Lish and Yale, our trip to Chicago with the grandparents and Thanksgiving, my and Yale's trip in Northern Utah, and last, but not least, Kyle and Chelsea's wedding.

But let's go in chronological order and start with the Color Me Rad race. It was fabulous! Of course it was also St. George's coldest day of the season, and maybe the windiest, but it was still very fun. I knew of several people running the race, but I ran it with the one and only Katie, my running buddy. She's amazing and I'm so glad we got to do this race together. We had a blast and can't wait to do it again next year!