Such a Good Helper

Chloe loved helping put up the decorations this year (she didn't have hand-eye coordination last year), but she especially loved Papa's ladder! She held onto it, walked all around it, tried to climb it, and finally used a tin to stand on to be just a little taller to play with it. Chloe is such a delightful, easy going little girl (when she isn't being a stubborn, little stinker) and I'm glad to say we didn't have any problems with her going after the Christmas tree or ornaments. There were a few times when she got to the presents before we could stop her, but nothing irreparable. Our Christmas season went a lot smoother than expected with our almost toddler :)

Chloe+ Leaves=Hysteria

Meghan I were out cleaning leaves in preparation for putting up Christmas lights and I thought, hey, I bet Chloe would LOVE playing in the leaves! WRONGO! She absolutely hated playing in the leaves! We put her in the pile and she immediately started screaming and reaching for me. I tried throwing the leaves around, letting them fall through the air-nope. We finally decided to see if she'd like it if I got in the pile with her and ta-da! Instant smile! We now know three things for sure about Chloe: She doesn't like touching pumpkin guts or frosting, and she hates playing in the leaves. Silly baby. Thanks for the laughs :)

Our Thanksgiving

We had a very full and fun Thanksgiving weekend and were able to celebrate with all sides of our family! First we celebrated with the Mangums (my Mom's parents) on Thursday: we had a seriously delicious smoked turkey made by my Uncle Cody and tons of yummy food and desserts. This year I made triple berry and apple pies, which turned out scrumptiously, if I do say so myself! It was extra fun to have my brother and his family down from up north and Chloe loved playing with their daughter Mailey, who is 5 months younger than her.

On Friday we had a very eventful day with the LeBaron clan; first we drove up to East Zion to chop down Christmas trees and eat our traditional yummy chili made by my Mother in law-Chloe especially loved the chili and gobbled down two helpings (you can see some of it on her face in the picture with Grandma). We didn't cut down a tree this year because we're living with my parents, but we had a great time visiting with family and Ronnie found joy in pelting his nephews with snowballs :) Then back down the mountain we went (while Chloe fell asleep while holding her bottle up), rushed home to make a pie and shower, then back to Hurricane for dinner! For the LeBaron dinner I made another triple berry pie and some tasty pecan pie bites (they're my favorite holiday treat).

It was a wonderful holiday and we're so grateful that we could do it over two days and see all of our family, especially since we won't be here next year. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!

Dear Chloe.

To my sweet, vivacious, bubbly, crazy 1 year old:

Your Dad and I could not imagine life without you! You have stolen our hearts completely and we absolutely adore the little person you have become. You have the sweetest little toothy grin and we can see all 8 teeth when you throw your head back and smile when you're proud of yourself. You love eating like a big girl and when we don't get food in your mouth fast enough, you open it wide and pant like a dog. You have a huge sweet tooth, just like me, and your favorite candy is sour punch straws. You're the perfect little copy cat and as a result, you have quite a large vocabulary for a one year old; saying things like doggie, pretty, no, Nana, Papa, Mommy, Dada, hi, hello, MiMi (for Aunt Meg), binky, stinky, cookie and in sign language, more and please. You've also learned how to tickle people and when we tell you to tickle someone you start to laugh and wiggle your fingers. You've started giving Daddy eskimo and butterfly kisses and you can also give high fives and bumps. We are always astounded at the new things you pick up! The craziest thing of all is watching our little baby girl stand up and walk! You are so big and strong and we are so proud of you!

Chloe thank you for giving us a year of laughs and loves. We love your sweet snuggles and open mouth kisses (m-ah!). You make us laugh every single day, sometimes to the point of tears. We hope so much for you and for your future, but more than anything we want you to always know how much we love you! It's not always easy, but you're worth it! You're the coolest baby ever!!!! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Chloe Bug!!!

Well it's a bit late, but Chloe turned 1 on November 21st! I baked her lady bug cake and we had 3 sets of grandparents over, plus my sisters and cousin Kara. It was a small gathering, but full of love for this sweet, funny little girl (I feel like I have to say little girl instead of baby, because she's so big now!)!

We let her open her gifts with Dad's help and then it was on to the cake!!! I think I was WAY more excited for this than she was and was a little let down when she wouldn't even touch it!!! Ronnie put her hand in it and she about dry gagged (which she is very good at and very dramatic when she doesn't like food) and pulled her hand away. She would hesitantly touch it and then snatch her hand back and try to shake the frosting off! The whole time all she wanted was her toy musical instruments. Finally we decided we should give the Birthday Girl what she really wanted and let her down to play with her xylophone. She was in heaven! I think we have a little music prodigy on our hands here!

We LOVE our beautiful little Chloe! She is such a joy and a bright spot in our lives! She has blessed us with lots of love, laughs, and patience this year! We love you Chloster! Happy Birthday!!!!

Gingerbread House Build Off 2010

We had a BLAST with our Gingerbread House Build Off! The teams were Mom and Steph, Dad and Meg, and Ronnie, Chloe, and me. Steph and Mom went for more of a mod look, while Dad and Meg modeled theirs after a British tv series, Dr. Who (any Dr.Who fans in the house???). Ronnie and I decided to build the dream gingerbread house and were quite satisfied with the results :) We had a great time making them and snacking on the yummy decor, plus we got to have fun with our new camera!!! Yay!!!! It's so nice to have an SLR again! Anyhow, we hope everyone is having a fun and happy Christmas season!!!!

Gingerbread House Frosting:

3 egg whites
1 lb powdered suger
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp vanilla

Beat 7-10 minutes (this is the most important part) and enjoy

Never Fails Pie Crust

I realize these aren't the most picturesque photos, but I'm sharing my pie crust recipe by special request, and don't feel right about a pictureless post. When I was younger and working on my Personal Progress, I decided to learn how to make pies for my ten hour project. There was a lady in my ward who was a pro, so I spent hours with her, perfecting my pie skills (I'm still in the process). She is an incredible woman and I am so grateful, not only for the skill she gave me, but for the precious time I spent getting to know her. She is a great example to me of love and compassion. So, without further ado, here is Janet's Never Fails Pie Crust!

3 cups flour

1 cup shortening (lard makes a flakier, tastier crust)

1 egg

1 TBS vinegar

6-7 TBS cold water

Combine flour and shortening by using pie cutter, cut until flaky

In separate bowl, beat egg using a fork. Add cold water and vinegar. Poor into flour/shortening mixture, touching it with hands as little as possible. Cover counter top with flour. Cut dough in half and make a flat ball with dough. Roll out with well floured rolling pin, then place in pie tin.

I don't know if all of that made sense...I just know how to do it...the recipe doesn't actually say all of that. I've never had a pie crust not work using this recipe and it's super tasty! Bake it at whatever temperature your pie recipe calls for!

PS Only the first pie in the second picture is mine. The other two were made by my awesome sil Brooke :)

PPS When the pie is done (when baking a top crust), brush milk on the top and sprinkle with sugar. This gives it that flaky, yummy look!

Where did October go?

Wow! I am super duper behind! I feel like I'm just barely holding on to lifes heels and wondering how time passes by so quickly! When I was younger, it seemed like time couldn't pass quickly enough and now I'm grasping at straws to keep it from running away without me!

October was a very busy month for us: We moved in with my parents the first weekend and then spent the next weeks scrambling to get everything clean and in order first at our old place, and then at my parents house. I felt like I was swimming in junk for weeks! Poor Chloe's usual haunts were places like the empty bookcase above, laundry baskets and storage bins. She was such a good sport :) Chloe and I also got sick with head colds the first weekend in October and both still have a touch of that annoying nagging cough.

We had a really great Halloween and were happy to eat all of Chloe's spoils from the 10 or so houses we visited (too bad we missed the trunk or treat). Trick or treating wasn't really Chloe's cup of tea and it was a little chilly...maybe next year....in China....right....Atleast she was the cutest lady bug around :) I think when she's older we'll stick to store bought costumes, because my costume making skills are seriously lacking. After we got the munchkin to bed we went to some friends house and being the old farts that we are, left around 11 and went to bed. We are getting so old and creaky! Hope you all had a great October too!

Pumpkin Carving 2010

Well, we finally got around to pumpkin carving! I feel like this month has flown by and that we haven't done very many festive things, so I was grateful to get our carving on! This year I decided to use stencils for our pumpkins and I'm hooked for life now! I carved the coolest pumpkin of my life (Ronnie helped when my hands got too tired) and Ronnie did a really sweet one too! The picture with all of the pumpkins in order is : Mine, my Dads, Stephanie's, Chloe's, Ronnie's and Meg's. My Mom painted hers, so it isn't in the line up. We all had a great time, except for Chloe who had a total melt down when my Dad touched her with the pumpkin guts. She was definitely not a fan :( Maybe next year!

Last Halloween...

This Halloween! What a difference a year can make!

11 Months Old

I know I've been told this probably a bijillion times, but it's true. Kids grow up WAY too fast and our Chloe bug is no exception! She is SO goofy and full of personality! Here's a bit about Chloe:

*Pulling herself up on everything and since she's really tall for her age (or so the dr. tells me) she can reach a lot farther than I estimate, so she's a little trouble maker!

*She gives us kisses (when she feels like it)!

*She loves going down slides

*Still LOVES doggies

*Put both arms out (kind of like shrugging shoulders) when I say "All Gone" when she's done eating.

*Is starting to not be afraid of the vacuum

*Is having a bit of a hitting problem...

*Loves to talk on the phone and will say "Hu-doe" to her pretend phone (aka her hand). Whenever she hears a phone ring she says "Nana", because we usually call Nana.

*Walks around like crazy if you hold her hands

*Yanks out her pony tail and bow atleast 5 times a day

*Zones out just like her Mama :)

*Her favorite baby food is Bananas

*Her favorite big person food is Chef Boyarde

*Gives really good hugs

*Plays favorites and teases people when they want to hold her by holding really tight to the person that has her

I could seriously go on and on about this little girl! She is so darn cool and super smart! I love hanging out with her every day! She has been such a trooper since I started taking her to work (day care) with me and is really good at playing. She is my little buddy and I love her to pieces and know that her Daddy does too!

PBL

So this is a bit old...as in first week of school old, but I thought I'd still share :) This year is Ronnie's senior year in college and he was chosen to be the PBL president (it's a business club and the letters stand for something Greek...no idea)! So to kick off the year there was a school carnival and the PBL club did a cotton candy booth. Chloe loved the cotton candy and we even got to watch fireworks!

Pack Your Bags Cricke-We're Movin' Out!

If someone would have asked me the fall of my Senior year in high school, if my five year plan included getting married, having a baby, and moving to China I probably would have laughed and said "that's not quite what I had in mind". In fact, my five year plan could not be more opposite than the way my life has turned out. I was NOT going to get married at age 19. I was going to go to hair school or nanny on the east coast. I was going to move far away and be a mega big hair dresser in NYC, and then I was going to serve a mission. I wasn't going to get married until atleast 23, when I got back from said mission. Well, if you know me (and you should if you're reading this, since my blog is PRIVATE), you know that my life didn't turn out quite the way that I planned it-it turned out better!

I got married 3 months after I turned 19 to the most handsome man ever, managed an apartment complex, finally made it to hair school, had a a gorgeous baby girl and never left my hometown (much to my Mother's delight!), until now. In January 2011, we will be moving to Beijing, China!!!
Some of you may be thinking "why China?". Well, I'll tell you-Ronnie went on a Mandarin speaking mission to Montreal, Canada and decided that he wanted to work with the Chinese for the rest of his life, so the only logical career choice was International Business. He's two semesters away from completing his Bachelors in Communication (including this semester) and then he will move on to SUU to get his Masters in International Business.

Well, along the way, he's been working with the international "branch" of the college that just brought 20 Chinese students to DSC and received an offer from an International Student Agency in China last Thursday to do an internship, in China! This was seriously, the moment he's been waiting for since he returned from his mission and we could not be more excited!

So we'll be moving in with my parents October 1st, so that we can start saving some mula (THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!) and then we will be moving to a little one room apartment in Beijing, China on January 5th, 2011! AH! The internship will provide room and board, but we will not be getting paid, unless Ronnie is offered a job of some sort. Though we are ecstatic about this opportunity, I am a little....apprehensive...for one-I don't speak Chinese. For another, they use human...stuff...to fertilize their produce and we'll have to boil/purify any water that we want to use. And then...there are these

Yes, that is a bathroom! They really only have these at really ancient places, like the great wall. I'm told they have more western toilets at more modern places. Anywho, I won't end on the negative (or slightly amusing). This will be a grand adventure! We'll get to see the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, hopefully some Tera Cota Warriors, get cheap nock offs of really expensive things and make friends that I'm sure we'll have for a lifetime and beyond! In the words of Mushu from my favorite movie Mulan (ironic, no?) "Pack your bags Cricke! We're movin' out!"