Let It Snow, Baby!

So, we've been snowed-in here at 14312. Can you believe it? It rarely snows in Seattle, but we are lucky enough to experience this wonderland. Too bad we still have all of our Christmas shopping to do. Today, I went outside with my sisters, Shawna & Cara, AND my two brothers, Brett & Stephen. Mom video taped us while we had a good time. Check out this video. Yes, Juliana, Tanya and Annette- we wish you were here too!

The Birthday Boy

Guess who is 28 today? Yup! My cute hubby.

I can't help but wish him a Happy Birthday on our blog. Bart is the most handsome, lovable, kind, PATIENT and caring man I know- he's really the love of my life. I tell him all the time that I can't believe he wanted to marry me. (Basically, I was a complete wreck the entire time we dated.. FYI.) He makes me laugh everyday. I don't know if there could have been a more perfect match for me than Bart. He is truly a great daddy to our little Whitney. I think he's probably changed more diapers than me. Bart is such a good listener, too. On one of our first dates, he took me on a picnic (and made homemade brownies)... I started talking about how I wondered why the leaves changed colors in the fall. Well, he actually researched it for me and on our next date, he explained why. How's that for sweet? Although Bart doesn't remember the first time we actually saw each other- that first encounter is burned into my memory. It was at Andrea Facer's house on the day of Bart's missionary farewell. I thought he was the hottest thing I had ever seen. He didn't even notice I was there. Two years later, I saw him again at our annual back to school BBQ at the Pillar House. Once again.. he didn't notice me. (Are you seeing a trend?) Finally, I caught his eye as he came to the Pillar House to visit Andrea. I had been cleaning the bathroom and was not in presentable clothes. When I heard a knock at the door, I decided to cover up with a big winter trench coat. It probably looked a little weird because it was about 85 degrees outside. But when I opened the door and saw those beautiful blue eyes- it was like magic. I know that is probably the cheesiest thing to ever write on a blog.. but it honestly was. It really felt like magic to me. I know that he didn't feel a thing. I immediately went upstairs and changed into a cuter outfit. We started dating and almost 2 years later, we were married in the Salt Lake Temple. It really was the happiest day of my life. I am so thankful to be sealed to my very best friend for time and all of eternity.

Happy Birthday. I love you so much, Bart. Thank you for marrying me.

Baby Bart. Look at that little upper lip.

I love my little Santa. Here he is dressed up for the holiday.
Bart loves holidays and so do I.

Our first Christmas dating. This is where it the magic happened.. the Pillar House.

May 2003- Disneyworld with the Paxton family

June 5, 2004. Married in the Salt Lake Temple.

August 2008- Bart becomes a daddy. He is just beaming!

Growing Up

So Whitney isn't eating anything except for milk, but she likes to be up at the table with us when we are eating. She is turning into a real social bug these days. She loves to be where the action is and soak it all in. Yes, that includes staying up at all hours of the night playing a kicking game with herself. Today she turned 15 weeks old. She loves to giggle when I bite her cheek. She loves to be bounced.. but much to my dismay, has fallen OUT of LOVE with her swing. (No-- not fallen out of the swing, don't worry!) She has discovered that the best tasting thing in the world is her hand. Whitney munches on her fingers all day long- but when it is time for sleep, she still loves that pacifier. And since she has the two of us wrapped around her little finger- she pretty much gets just what she wants.

Don't let the sleeper fool you, there's not much sleeping going on.


Dad and Whitney

Mom and Whitney

Munching on the hands.. get them all in there.


"Where's the real food, guys?"

Our family on Thanksgiving. Our little turkey is asleep in Bart's arms.

Laughing

Last week, Whitney caught a cold. She had a stuffy nose and had a rough time sleeping. But things started looking better this Tuesday when I took her to the doctor to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. We were in the clear. At the doctor's office, Whitney hit a milestone when she started laughing at the doctor. She had only laughed in her sleep before this first 'awake' laughter, and I was just waiting to hear that little giggle.

Then, today, November 14-

I put Whitney on her little activity mat. She has started getting into playing with her toys. I was showing her how one of them worked..
and then this happened...

I think it's pretty exciting to hear her giggle. Bart was happy I recorded it so he could see it when he got home. Now- I'm just waiting for her to laugh when I do my stand up comedy. With my hilarious jokes, I'm sure it won't be long.

Our Sweet Dolly...

I've always had a thing for squeezing things so tight. That may sound weird. But I just want to squeeze Whitney so tight.
Of course, I can't-- yet. She is still too fragile. Maybe by the time she is ready to head off to college she can handle a good, strong HUG from her Mommy dearest.

The other day, Bart and I took Whitney to run a bunch of errands. She was wearing her cute outfit from her Aunt Stephanie. She looked just darling and stylish. On the way home, she fell asleep in the car. When we took her inside, Bart took a peek at our little bundle... and then started laughing. Her little headband had fallen over her eyes.

Bart's Hair

The other night, after putting Whitney to bed, I was enjoying a relaxing evening lying in my bedroom watching some T.V.

All of a sudden, Bart came running into the room looking like this...




Hilarious. I was having flash-forwards to our lives in 30 years. My bald eagle of a husband coming home from a long day of filling cavities and pulling teeth.

I begged him to keep it like that for a full day. But he wanted to shave the rest. My cute hubby. He sure knows how to get me to laugh.

Halloween

Surprise, Surprise! This year for Halloween, Bart was a....

Soccer Player!
That's right!

Krista was her usual Witch.. no pun intended. Whitney was a Ghost.
Here's a picture of us at the ward Halloween Party.

Two Months

Whitney is 9 weeks old today. Bart prefers that we count by months and not weeks- it must be a guy thing. She is getting so big and so talkative. No, she doesn't actually speak English.. but she's fluent in baby-talk. I wish I could just understand what she is saying. Nobody can get her to smile as well as Bart can. Her favorite things to do at this age are: sleep (I wish a little big longer!), eat, smile, baby-talk, play in the bath, stare at things and SWING. She loves to be on the move, which is motivation for me to go on walks.
Yesterday, we went to the doctor and found out that she is steadily gaining weight. Before I put her on the scale, I asked the nurse to guess how much she thought Whitney would weigh. (I mean, this lady does this on a daily basis, I thought it might be fun for her to have a little guessing game.) She said, "Oh.. about 15 or 16 pounds?"
Really? Does my baby look that big? When we found out that she weighs 11 lbs. 8 oz, the nurse said, "She looked a little thicker than that."
Hmm.


Bath time is Whitney's FAVORITE!

I found this scrapbook paper and Whitney really likes looking at it.
She will even smile and talk to it. I wonder what she sees.

This girl must be a "Bishopp!" She loves staring in the mirror. This entertains her for quite some time. Now, if she could just get a good grasp on tweezers, she could be just like her mom and pluck her eyebrows each night before retiring to bed.


Mom and baby


Smiling for daddy!

Halloween

I'm sure about 90 percent of Americans, when asked what their favorite holiday is, would say, Christmas. My hubby, Bart, doesn't fall into that percent. He LOVES Halloween. No, he's not a pagan, witch-hunter. He just enjoys dressing up, carving pumpkins and scaring people. I'm sure it all started when he was little. Maybe this can give us a clue as to WHY this boy loves Halloween.

Here is Bart with his family. They are all dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Bart's dressed up like a pirate. (Which could also be a reason he loves Pirates of the Caribbean?) His dad, who is a dentist, is a Tooth Fairy. Get it? I absolutely love this family picture. Yes, Steph, you are adorable in that little witch costume.

Here's Bart with his loot from trick-or-treating.

Is his older brother, Aaron, trying to convince Bart to give him some of his candy? Yes, Bart is even organized as a child. He is categorizing his candy.

The next two pictures are of our first Halloweens together. Notice that he is a soccer player in both. This is one of those "made up" costumes. Does he like Halloween, or does he really just want to be David Beckham?
In the one above, I was Little Bo Peep. I wanted Bart to dress up to be my sheep. He declined.



And finally, I think the REAL reason Bart loves Halloween is to scare people. One year, we went to our friends, the Nadauld's, house. Bart dressed up like a dummy. He stuffed his clothes full of newspaper and wore this paintball mask. He sat on the steps of the Nadauld's house and waited for trick-or-treaters. When they came by, they thought that it was just a dummy sitting on the porch. Then, when they got to the door, he would scare them.

Happy Halloween, Bart!

Family

As some of you may know, I come from a family of eight children. As I have recently given birth to ONE child, I can honestly say that eight is A LOT of kids. I feel so blessed to have come from such a wonderful family. We have so much fun when we are all together. Oh, sure.. there are the usual squabbles, teasing sessions and the occasional outburst- but when all is said and done, we love each other. I was rooting through some pictures from the past, and I came across these gems. (Mom- I know these are your ONLY copies of some of these pictures, and YES, you'll get them back someday. Wink, Wink!)

I feel especially lucky to have 5 sisters. Wow! I hope Whitney gets the same-- that's right Bart-- only 5 more girls to go! We have so much fun together. I am sure my dad wondered if he would EVER have a boy. So- here are some fun pics from the past. Enjoy!

Check out how professional this picture looks.
I love the two Sunshine Generation dresses worn by my two oldest sisters. (Yes, I'm the one with the straight-blonde hair in the front.)

May 1983, 5 girls.. so far!
(Yes, I'm the ragga-muffin who needs a hairbrush.)

I distinctly remember this night.
We dressed up Juliana to look as fat as she possibly could.

This is Cara. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES pictures- so I included one of just the two of us.
I love you Carebear!

Here is the first boy, Brett. He is now at BYU.
Apparently the two of us look alike.

This is Stephen, my youngest brother. I was 15 when he was born.
Here he is with Bart at our reception.


All 8 kids the last time we were together.
July 2007