The Candy Man

Christian LOVES to bake! It is a Holiday tradition for him to make Christmas candy each year, this year he got together with his pal, Jeremy . I love seeing men in the kitchen; to be honest Christian is way better there than I am. I can make eggs better than him, but that is about it.
When all was said and done, we ended up with a whole lotta candy, three types of fudge, Boston creams, peanut brittle, peanut butter balls, and toffee. It is all DELICIOUS and we need to give it the neighbors ASAP before I gain 10 lbs.

While Dad was busy in the kitchen, Berke and I hung out, read books, played, and had fun with the camera. This kid gets cuter by the day!

Poor Kid

We have had one snow storm this winter thus far; of course it fell on a night when we had to go out to a Christmas Party. We dressed Berke in his winter get up and this was the final result. Poor kid looks like the kid in A Christmas Story, yep the one who cant put his arms down because he has so many thick layers on.

All I Want For Christmas

are my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth.

Wait, Santa! I changed my mind!

Thanksgiving in Utah

My parents, wanting to see their grandson, and not wanting to fly to Boston, decided to buy us tickets to Utah instead, for Thanksgiving this year. We usually stay home for the holidays and travel in the summer, but since the tickets were free and we were ready to experience the FREE grandparent babysitting I have been hearing so much about, we went.
Berkeley did very well on the 3 out of the 4 flights. The last stretch home, he was DONE being confined, but all the other flights he was a champ. Everyone comment on how well he did and of coarse how adorable he is.

We arrived in Utah on Wednesday evening and ate at my favorite...CAFE RIO!!! Then Christian, my brother, Stevie and I got up early Thanksgiving morning for a 5k Turkey Trot. It was FREEZING while waiting for the race to start, but once we started running things were good. I am glad I ran, because it was the only exercise that occurred on our trip and we did a whole lot of eating. It is weird, how much I have come to love to run (short distances). After I ran my first 5k in Louisville I never thought I would run again; but hey this year I have run 3, so never say never.
Thanksgiving was delicious and fun to be with my entire family. It is nice to be with family for the holidays; it has been awhile.

Friday morning, my Mom, Marci and I were crazy and got up at 4:30a.m. to hit the sales for BLACK FRIDAY. I am not sure why, I have never seen Target so insane, it was somewhat traumatic for me. But we did get some good deals and we felt pretty happy about that. Black Friday was also my 29th Birthday. I spent the rest of my day having lunch with many of my friends at Leatherbys and eating lots of ice cream. Below is Joel and I who just happen to share the same birthday, but until this year never got to celebrate together.

Later that evening, we used some of that WONDERFUL FREE grandparent babysitting and went to Wendover with my Dad and Lori to see Dwight Yoakam in concert. It was a fun time for all. Thanks Dad for the tickets!

Berkeley loved spending time with his grandparents. By far his favorite activity was watching the choo choo train go around the Christmas tree with grandma. He was just sit and watch it, it was adorable.

Tristen and Berkeley are cousins and only two weeks apart. They could not be more different from each other, but they both have the cute factor happening for them. It made me a bit homesick to realize how much family time Berkeley is missing out on; he could be so close to his cousins and grandparents if we just lived a few thousand miles closer.

Saturday I got my hair did. I love how cheap it is to get your hair done in Utah and how fabulous it looks when you are done. Oh to feel beautiful again.....priceless. We had the opportunity to get together with the Sorrels family at Chili's as well.

Here is Berke with his Grandpa and Grandma Sorrels. He was wearing his Utah shirt for the big BYU vs. Utah game, but we don't really need to talk about that, other than he wears RED well.

Grandma and Grandpa Sorrels with all four of their grandchildren, next year they will have FIVE. Nope, it's not me adding to the family, it is Stevie and Marci. I love seeing my nieces and nephew, they are so stinkin' hilarious.

My mom really wanted to celebrate Berkeley and Tristen's Birthdays while we were there; the boys started to find joy in unwrapping presents. They also each enjoyed a chocolate cupcake for the occasion. Berke was more interested in using the cake as finger paints than eating it, but he did manage to suck some of the frosting off his fingers.

Maren and Brock recently moved to Provo, Utah; since we were so close we couldn't pass up a chance to see their new house and their adorable kids. Berke was excited to play with his cousins even if this picture would suggest otherwise. We love the Kirwan family.

We went with the Kirwans and my parents down to Temple Square. We haven't visited Utah in the winter time for awhile, so it was nice to do the old tradition again. It really was so beautiful.

We also got to visit the Taft family on Thanksgiving and by taking the famous "Taft Park City Outlet Shopping Trip." There is nothing we Tafts like more than a really good deal!!!

Check this out:
Berkeley with his Great Great Grandma Taft

Berke with his Great Grandpa Taft

Berke with his Grandpa Taft

It was nice to have Berke see all of his family in Utah, even though I think he was a bit overwhelmed with all of the people all of the time. It was a really fun trip and I am so thankful for my wonderful family.
Christian and I realized we are not Westerners any longer; our skin was sooooo dry, we were not used to it at all. I would wake up every morning with a dry throat. Berkeley's cheeks turned bright red from being so dry. We also kept a steady stream of chap stick flowing.
Overall, great trip to Utah. Very busy, very fun, very needed.

He's a Mover and Rocker

Our Little Man is 10 1/2 months. It is insane how fast the time has gone and how much he has grown and changed. In the last month he has become much more active, pulling himself up onto everything and pulling everything off of every shelf in the house. He absolutely loves chasing McDuff around as well.

Berkeley finally started eating cereal, the solid version. He doesn't like baby food with chunks in it, but he LOVES eating cereal. I am just so proud of how adorable he is when he picks up his cereal with his little fingers and puts it in his mouth, it is the cutest thing ever!

When I say he is a rocker, I REALLY mean he is a rocker. This kid rocks back and forth any time he hears music, anytime he gets bored in his high chair, anytime he can. The last two weeks he has also been getting up on all fours in his crib when he wakes up in the middle of the night and starts banging his head into his crib. He is sleeping or trying to get back to sleep when he does this. It is very loud, creeps me out, and goes on for sometimes 15 minutes. His doctor assures me he will not be getting brain damage from this action. Some mornings we come into his room to find the crib several feet away from the wall. That is what the picture below is showing. Obviously, Berke is proud of his strength.

Last is a little video that shows Berke's new tricks. He LOVES music and is no doubt his fathers son. He will move any time he hears music and his favorite thing is to play the piano at any time. He also started clapping this week, which we have been working with him on and is so amazing to watch him learn how to do things. Gosh I sure do love this boy!

Thanksgiving 5K

We are visiting Utah this year for Thanksgiving. If anyone wants to run/walk a 5K with us, sign up here: http://www.utahhumanrace.com/

HOSS

My adorable brother Hoss passed away from health complications related to old age on
October 29, 2009. Hoss was the most beautiful brindle English Bulldog around Salt Lake City. He was the best brother a girl could ask for. He was always the favorite child, probably because he was cuter and a little less maintenance. However, he was always the louder sleeper and I definitely got the better looking teeth! Hoss was a brother I always had fun with. When I lived with my father before I got married, my dad would go to bed at 10 p.m. every night. That is when Hoss would head downstairs to have some fun with his favorite sister. He would jump up on my futon bed and we would wrestle around. I would throw a blanket over him and tease him as he would try to bite/mutilate my hand. This guy had a powerful jaw so I had to be very careful. When I was moving out of my dad's house, as I was taking out the futon mattress, ran and jumped on the mattress and refused to get off. It was so sad to know that he realized his sister was moving out and there would be no more fun times at night. Hoss was very bright, when my dad would tell him his sister was coming over, he would sit and the back door and wait for me to show up.
Hoss was a daddy's boy. He loved his dad so much, when my dad would go out of town he would pout around the house and sit by the door each night around the time my dad would normally get home from work and wait for him.

Hoss did get to meet little Berkeley in February and was very proud to be an uncle as you can see below.

He was also very good at sharing with his little nephew McDuff the one time they were able to meet.

This is a family photo of all the siblings. Adorable family aren't we?

Hossy, you will be greatly missed by all those who had the chance to know you. You were such a wonderful member of our family and I cant imaging what it will be like without you.
God be with you till we meet again!
Love you!