This was the hardest part of leaving LA. We’ve had some great friends there. Most of them moved away ahead of us. Some have been there for us all along. And some were new. Sad.

Amanda and me amidst all of our chaos. Thanks for everything.

Michelle, fellow preggo, and distant relative of Mark’s–you’re great. So glad we got to be friends.

Our way too cool for words friends Adam and Erin–you guys rock! Thanks for the boxes too!

Aw, Paige and Mav. What will we do without you?!?!? Our lives will never be the same. Thank heavens for Skype.

And all of our other friends whom we didn’t get pictures with or get to say goodbye too…we love you and miss you and hope to see you soon!

Yes, I mean Denver.

This will soon be our home. I know, kind of crazy. After 5 years for me, and 7 for Mark, we’re leaving Los Angeles and moving to the wide open spaces =) ha. Kidding. Kind of. It’s a little scary, and a little bit stressful (especially right now, hello!) And A LOT sad.

But from what we hear it’s a beautiful city, we’ll love it there and it has horrible winters. So, two out of three isn’t bad. We will be able to afford a house sometime in the near future, and there are parks/open spaces about every 5 blocks or so–at least that’s what it looks like on Google Maps and Google Earth, so there will be somewhere for the kids to play. I’ll most likely have a washer and dryer, and definitely a dishwasher too. These are all things I’m looking forward to.

Leaving will be hard too. I know this city, I have dear friends and family here–finally. Though, I expect to be back on a regular basis for Britton’s job commitments.

Mark is excited about his new job. Maybe he’ll post about it on his site. I’ll remind him. It will be positive for him, and his career, and that’s always a good thing. Especially these days.

We’ll be sure to keep you posted as things get closer. In the mean time, I’m going to get as much fun LA stuff done as I can in the next 2 weeks!

Yes, we are still here.

All last week we had family visiting. Mother’s Day morning my mom came up for brunch, which was delicious! Then stayed for church. Then Mark’s mom flew in from DC that night and had dinner with us. She stayed until Tuesday afternoon before going to a work meeting in San Diego. We had lots of fun showing her our typical routine. She enjoyed watching Brit at swimming lessons, and took some pictures. Maybe I’ll get them one day.

Then on Wednesday my dad came down from Utah for a quick visit. We had lots of fun going to the park, checking out Manhattan Beach (it was FREEZING that day) and taking walks.

Brit was so excited he got to play with his sand toys.

Taking a trip to the cold water.

Dig, dig, dig.

Britton got a lot of energy out this week. He ran around a lot and kept us entertained.

Then, both Mark and my dad left SUPER early Saturday morning. Dad back to Utah, Mark to San Fran for his beloved Music Hack Day. He made something pretty cool to use with Last.fm that he can share on his blog…since I’m sure I won’t do it justice.

It was nice having everyone here. Hope to see you again soon!

Can’t believe my baby is 2! It really did go by so fast. He is a walking, talking sweet little angel that makes us laugh so much!

He was excited for his “Day-Day” and we had a good time.

Wasn’t super into breakfast, but he did enjoy opening his presents.

He actually ripped off the wrapping paper this time. Apparently he really is growing up.

Had to put on his new shoes right away.

Pulled his presents out of the bag and read what they were. I was a little bummed though, because we got him the Tag junior books to go with his Tag reader, but it looks like he already knows everything in the books (shapes and ABCs.) They say they’re for ages 2-4, so I figured they’d be a little more interesting. Oh well.

Then we went to lunch with Daddy at Corner Bakery. He loved his fruit and the chips.

We got him a bubble gun….

It was a very big hit. All night “bubbles, more bubbles!”

He played with Play-doh

raced cars with his new friend Jake

And they watched Fox and the Hound. He got to run around, eat pizza and read stories. I think he had a pretty fun day.

This morning we had his check up.

Weight: 22.6 lbs 2nd percentile!!

Height: 33.75 in. 35th percentile

Head: 18.5 in. very small. His head has only grown 4 inches since he was born.

Favorite food: Depends on the day. Likes eggs, yogurt, cheese, cereal, fruit and PB & honey. Everything else falls in and out of favor on a daily basis.

Favorite things: Cars, bubbles, stories, his sign language dvds, Daddy, music, Snuggabip (snuggie and binky)

He loves to be thrown in the air, twisted around, climb on people…especially when they’re doing Downward dog or the plank (Yoga, people)

Britton talks all the time, repeats what we say and now says “thankyoucelcom” getting both niceties out of the way at once.

Love you baby angel!

Seriously…I have had real problems with taking pictures lately. Not that there is too much excitement going on in our lives that require documentation, but I realize it’s been a few weeks since the last post…mainly because I don’t have any pictures to share and what fun is a post without pictures?

I have managed to download a few for this post….but the ones that actually mean something never got taken at all.

Like? Well, my awesome friend Kristie came for a visit last week from North Carolina. It’s been 7 months since I’ve seen her (blasted Christmas snow storm in the East) so we we’re super excited for her to come. It was a great visit…though too short of course. My hair fabulous, we’re well-fed and I’ve had a few good laughs. But, did I get a picture with her? No. There are plenty of Britton on her phone because he somehow figured out her phone had a camera and every time he saw it he insisted on a picture. But, us? No.  Boo!!!

Valentine’s Day? Surely. Nope. Brit loved the truck he picked out at the store. Mark liked his candies and present, but no, I didn’t document any of the sweetness.

But, here’s Brit with his ever-present need for pictures:

He now likes to “sleep” on the couch. He’ll pull a pillow up and say “bed. Ni night” It lasts about 10 seconds, then he’s done.

Still quite the game player. He is really good at them too…I’m amazed at the puzzles he does and the word games he has figured out.

So…that’s it for us until I get my act together and start documenting our lives again.

So, apparently we made a good choice in flying to DC the day we did, since the next day it started snowing and didn’t stop for another 2 days!

Luckily, we traveled down to Williamsburg for the weekend before it all started, so we missed out on most of it. It was just getting dark when we arrived at the Historic Powhatan Plantation. At the end of a long drive, the big red brick Colonial house greets visitors with bright candles in the windows. Fife and drum players stood on the steps playing tunes. Ah, Colonial Christmas.

In our “arrival papers” we got a brochure for “Christmas Town” at Busch Gardens. With nothing else to do that night, we headed over. It had started to snow lightly, but wasn’t too bad yet. Just as we got there we received some really bad news. Our friends Kristie and Jared were supposed to meet us in Williamsburg for the weekend (it’s halfway between NC and DC, hence the trip) but because of work obligations they had to be SURE to get back for, and an unpredictable storm coming in, they couldn’t come. After that setback, we were determined to lift our spirits even more at Christmas Town.

I’ve never been to Busch Gardens in the summer, but in the winter the ride entrances are closed off and the path to the different country themed “villages” are pretty definite. There were different scenes in each one, like a Penguin house that told you about penguins, and then had some real live ones on loan from the zoo. And a giant snowman. Brit wasn’t too sure about that one.

We saw Santa in his workshop, and Brit and Mark got a nice picture with him. Where are the pictures you ask? On a camera we don’t have. I forgot mine in the car, so Mark’s mom took them all. Maybe I’ll get them one day and you can see them on smugmug. There was a nice indoor place to eat, and a couple of different groups played songs and sang. The whole place, with its European village theme, had just a great Christmas feeling about it. It was just what I needed to get into the holiday spirit.

We took the train all around the park, and Brit liked that a little bit. But, since he was in the middle of the seat, he couldn’t see much.

It was starting to snow more and more by this point…wetter snow. And it was cold. My feet were frozen in my boots (some boots huh?) and we were getting soaked. It was time to head back. By now there was a lot of snow…like a couple of inches on the car. Oh yay!

It continued through the night and into the next day. Up in DC they got 18 inches! That’s pretty unheard of, all in one storm. I’m glad we were farther south and east since we got about 3-4 inches total.

The next day was pretty uneventful…if you don’t count the HOURS we spent in the Time Share’s sales office. We agreed to the talk, even though we own, to get the $100 card. Because of some miscommunication that resulted from our last stay in Scottsdale, they thought they didn’t have much to tell us, so at the END of our 90 minutes, I questioned something they had just breezed over and they found out that we hadn’t been told what we were supposed to have been and then it launched a whole other long time with paperwork and such. Man! Then, Mark’s mom had a little question about transferring her week to points and that resulted in another 2 hours.

FINALLY we made it out and by this time it was beyond Brit’s nap time. For dinner we ate at one of those restaurants that has been in a small town for more than 50 years. It was quaint and the food was passable. But, it was all decorated and had a nice homey feel.

Sunday dawned bright and clear. The roads had been paved and we headed to Colonial Williamsburg to check it out in the wintertime. So adorable. I just love it. But, the wind picked up and it was super cold…so back to the car and on our way home we went. I can hardly wait to go back, because as we left I discovered several more houses and streets I didn’t know existed. I thought it was just 1 street…but no. There are lots. Huh.

It was a nice little getaway and I’m glad we went, even if things didn’t go entirely according to plan. And, the best part of all was missing the blizzard of 2009

We went with some friends to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago and had a great time.

They were even good waiting while the Mommies went on a few rides.

I really liked all of the Christmas decorations they had up. It adds a nice excitement to the park.

Santa was waiting in his cabin–like, a real one–to greet people. He was very nice, but Britton wanted nothing to do with him. I barely got him to face forward for the picture. Maybe next year?

Maybe we should call it “Frosting eating” for Britton instead.

Mav doesn’t like frosting…it’s Brit’s favorite. I love how alike they are.

He spreads it on, then eats it. At least it’s not straight from the bowl.

Yum! He had a big glob right on his cheek, but it fell off JUST as I was taking the picture! =(

But, he was happy with it any way.

We set up our Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving. Brit had fun helping with the ornaments.

This one is a Kangaroo to represent our trip to Australia this year. Brit really liked it.

Brit helped put the Angel on the top of the tree.

This is what happened afterward….Brit played with the ornaments.

It’s been quite the fun time. He can’t seem to leave the red and silver balls alone. He pulls them off the tree then throws them or kicks them because he thinks they’re balls. He even got his first time out over it…but to no avail. He insists on playing with them. So, now our tree looks kind of retarded with all the balls on the top half, and a few of the other ornaments he can’t hurt on the bottom. Oh well…at least he’s having fun.

I love having our decorations up and turning the lights on. Brit gets excited when it’s time for “yites.” It just makes our place feel warmer and cozier.

Yes, this was like a month ago, but at least I’m getting to it.

When my friend Leslie came to town we had lots of fun going out and playing. Her one request was Disneyland, and since Mark wanted to go for Brit’s first visit, we ended up going on Labor Day. Yeah, we were a little nervous about the crowds, but it really wasn’t bad.

We started out in California Adventure and he really liked the Bug’s Life rides and area.

Heimlich’s is a fun little train that takes you through a bunch of food and things from a bug’s perspective. The Animal Crackers even smell like cookies!

Britton, Leslie and Me on the Lady Bug Spinner ride.

Of course, Britton had to play in the water fountain.

Family photo time…waiting for the “Bug’s Life 3-D Show”

Brit’s first time on a Carousel. He was excited they were fishes. He sat up there and didn’t even get scared.

Mark and Leslie waiting to shoot forward on California Screamin’

I just love this expression. He’s eating grapes and loving it.

It’s a small world. Very fun and exciting.

This pretty much sums up Britton’s face the entire day. We weren’t sure if he was having fun on everything or what because it was pretty much a blank wide-eyed look. But, we think he did….

Forget the baby stuff, Brit went on the big, scary grown up rides like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean without so much as whimpering. It was surprising, because he’s usually such a sensitive little soul. Maybe our insistence that it was fun helped a bit.

Brit and Daddy driving a car in Toon Town.

So, we waiting and saw Fantasmic. People said it was the first night for the dragon, so we figured it was a must see. It didn’t disappoint. Here’s the dragon from Sleeping Beauty in all it’s fire-breathing glory.

And poor Brit was so tired he missed the whole thing!

We knew we had to get him some souvenir from his first trip to Disneyland, and if you know me, you know I hate knick-knacks and junk toys. So it had to be something more substantial that would last. He ended up getting a Disney Bedtime Story Book and after a long search, and a million “No!” answers, we found him the thing he wanted–a stuffed “MoMo” (Nemo)

Our funny little guy just will not come out with the word “yes” he can sign it, if we make him, but whenever he’s asked a question, it’s still “no” If he doesn’t answer, that’s pretty much a yes. So, when we showed him a bunch of things, it was always no. When he wanted it, he immediately hugged it to him. That’s how we knew we’d found a match with Nemo.

We had a lot of fun and we’re really glad we went. Since it was in our best interest to get a season pass (since it’s cheaper than going 2 times) we did. Now Brit and I and friends can go down whenever we want–which works out perfectly since we have family coming next week who are going….now we can join them. Yay!