Not liking Santa this year. Maybe next year. :)

Halloween 2011

Halloween was a blast this year. We were so impressed with how fast Marlie caught on to the whole trick or treating thing.  She would go up to each house and patiently wait for our neighbors to open their doors and then proceed to take 4-6 pieces of candy. She would keep going if she could. We trained her well. She loved putting the candy in her pumpkin basket and definitely knows what candy is. She loves lollipops as you can see in the next picture. This was a couple of days before Halloween with her very 1st lollipop. She was hooked after that. The candy is well hidden in the house now. Nick and I try to sneak some once and awhile but she is like a hawk and always catches us. :) I can't wait to see her next year with little Abby!

 Duffields hayride to pick a pumpkin.

 Marlie's first attempt with paints and she only ate a little bit of it. She loved it and did great. We actually grew this pumpkin in our garden!  : )

 Our little chickie with buck teeth. Gotta love it!

The Clock is ticking...... too fast.

I have so much I want to get done before the baby comes. I feel like I am always racing against the clock and it always wins.  Marlie is also getting to be a big girl way too fast. She has such a fun and outgoing personality. She loves to flirt with older men and explore every second she gets. Mom and Dad are chopped liver half the time. She is definitely very independent and will never get pushed around by others which is good. She still is obsessed with doggies and loves to go shopping with Mommy and Mimi. There is a little bit of a temper that we are working on but other than that she is such an amazing baby. Her strong point is definitely her sleeping habits. She loves to sleep like her Mommy and Daddy. She goes down at 8 and wakes up at 8. She plays in her crib and waits for me to get her out at 9. How wonderful is that. It is so nice to sleep again. I am trying to take it all in because I know in January EVERYTHING is going to change in the sleeping area. :) I am definitely excited for the next baby to arrive but I will be honest, I am enjoying this nice routine Marlie and I have.  I really couldn't ask for a better baby. I love her to pieces!!

17 months

Marlie and Daddy watching Yo Gabba Gabba

My big girl

Baby #2. We can't decide on a name. Either Evelyn, Charlotte or Abigail. What do you think?

25 weeks pregnant

Spring and Summer 2011

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It's Official- Now I can use the phrase, "My Girls"

We are having another little girl!! I can't believe it. Poor Nicholas is definitely outnumbered now but I know that Marlie will love having a little girlfriend to play with.  It will be nice to use her clothes again since they are so dang cute. The hard part is figuring out a name. If it was a boy, it would have been easy but of course we have a long list of girl names. We will see! Until then, more pink it is!!

Learning how to sew and loving it!

I began sewing awhile ago before Marlie was born and made some simple pillows. I couldn't wait to learn more but then...... Miss Marlie Marie was born and that went out the window real fast. Now, life is starting to slow down a little so I thought I would start to sew once again. I am all about simple and cheap since I am such a rookie and not so talented in this area. The Sister Missionaries came over and taught me how to sew a pillow case baby dress. It was so easy. I am going to make a ton more. What do you think??

 Yesterday I came home from the shore and Nicholas built a little sewing area for me in the basement. How adorable is he? Really, how did I end up with such an amazing husband. He's my everything!!

 Don't you love the purses hanging up on the wall. He may be part gay. :)

 He even bought a couple of patterns for me to start with. I was blown away.

California Dreamin

We had so much fun in California! It was so nice to visit with the family, see the sites and enjoy the perfect weather. It was definitely hard coming back to the humidity. We were busy the whole trip and had a blast. The plane rides are another story. Marlie did well but it was rough especially when she didn't nap the whole day while we were flying. I'm sure some people weren't too happy sitting near us but what can you expect when you fly 6 hours with a 14 month old. :) Here are some pictures highlighting our trip.

We had to window shop on Rodeo drive. That is a must! We also took a little trolley tour that showed us the beautiful mansions in the area.  

 Here are a couple of pictures from Irvine Spectrum, my most favorite outdoor mall.

 How cute! Nick and his sister, Anneke and brother, Chris. We miss them already.

 My bestest friend Marcie was able to meet us there with her two adorable little girls. I wish they lived closer.

 Marlie's 1st carousel ride and it looks like Nick's too. :)

 This is what happens when you play a little too hard.

 Mimi and Marlie on Seal Beach. We had a blast.

 Can she get any cuter in her bikini. :)

 Marlie and her cousin Ellie with their matching dresses. Thanks again Anneke!!

 The traditional family picture in front of the Coleman home. We miss you guys!

 And of course the most important picture of all. Marlie with her Oma and Opa!

Marlie's going to be a big sister!!

Where do I begin? I'll start off by saying that we are so blessed. We are still in shock but a really good shock. Most of you know that it took 4 rounds of, not so fun, fertility treatments to get my Marlie! We knew it would most likely be tough to get pregnant again in the future so we had 8 embryos frozen for future use. Well, I guess we won't be needing them this time. :) About 3 weeks ago, I was getting some pains so I made an appointment to see the Dr. I decided to take a pregnancy test just to "rule," it out because I don't have insurance. Well, surely enough 2 lines came up and I was in shock! I couldn't believe it. I decided to put the pregnancy test in a "Congrats" bag as a present for Nick. I told him that I made something for him. Well..... he helped make it too. Ha! I was nervous to see his reaction. We were planning on waiting at least another year before trying again but I guess Heavenly Father had a different plan for us. He always does. Nick was pleasantly surprised. We did the same thing for my parents. They were overjoyed too. I guess my Marlie Marie cured me! :) We think I am about 10 weeks along. It is hard to know exactly how far along I am because of my condition so I am anxiously awaiting my first Dr. apt. and ultrasound in about a week.  I was wondering why I was sooo tired during Marlie's Birthday parties but I thought it was stress. The nauseousness kicked in later and is kicking my butt right now but will hopefully be done real soon.  Marlie and the new baby will be about 20 months apart. I sure they will be the best of buds. We are so blessed!

My Marlie is One!!

This post is way overdue. Marlie turned 1 on May 6th and her Birthday parties were perfect. We decided to have 2 separate ones, a family one and a baby one the next day. It was definitely stressful at times preparing for both but they went perfectly. Nick's Sister, Myisha flew in so that was really  nice. It was so wonderful to see her and for her to meet baby Marlie. The weather was perfect too! I was so worried that I checked the forecast everyday for a week. Ha! 

 Her theme was Butterflies and flowers. It was sooo girlie but fit her perfectly. We even had live butterlies to release. We raised them from tiny caterpillars. It was a really fun experience. I suggest everyone try it with their little ones. We read the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, played freeze dance and danced like Butterflies, had a butterfly pinata and then planted flowers in little terra cota pots for the kddies to take home. It was a blast to say the least. We all definitely slept good that night. :)

Here are some family photos we took in the park celebrating her turning 1!

Here are some pictures from her Birthday Parties!

 There was cake everywhere, I mean, everywhere!

My Bestest Friend, Kelli, made the flower puffs. Aren't they adorable!

 All ready to party.... again. :)

 Nick and his Sister, Myisha. We miss her!!

 As you can tell from my facial expression, I wasn't sure about holding the Butterfly.

 Marlie planting her flower.

Time to blow out your one and only candle. :)

Marlie also had a good 1 year checkup. Her Iron is a little low like her Mommy so she needs to take vitamins but other than that she is very healthy which is great. She is now 27 3/4 inches long- 15% percentile. She's going to be short like her Momma too. Sorry Marlie. She weighs 17 lbs. 2 oz. and didn't make it on the chart for this one. Ha! It's good because I think she weighs a ton. My back is killing me. :)