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Is that a cute baby or what? My girl’s got curly hair! Can you believe she’s 15 months old already?! Other Audrey updates: Her vocabulary consists of mama, dada, Elijah (pronounced I-ja), hi-ya (thanks to Elijah’s karate class), bear (used to refer to any and all animals), done, hi (one of the most frequently employed), buh bye, ni-nite, cheese, bath, da (yes – in Russian?), ba ba (bottle/binky), belly (the girl’s seriously obsessed with belly buttons), toes, and bye-bye. She’s not walking yet, but she tries when she’s got an audience and likes her push toys.

Elijah updates: He started karate and couple of weeks ago and is loving it. Last Saturday we finally taught him how to ride a bike! School is going well and he impresses me with his reading skills all the time.

Jim & Me: Jim is enjoying his new job downtown. He loves being right in the thick of things and has lunch at City Creek all the time. We are getting closer on our little remodel project. We replaced some half walls with a nice banister, painted our main floor, and are about a third of the way through installing our wood floor in the living room (see above photo). After that, we’re putting wood in on the stairs and upstairs hallway. I’ll post pictures when it’s all done. We are both speaking in church on Sunday. I seem to remember having whined about it last time I had to. This time there’s more pressure because it’s Easter so we have to be extra inspiring. Wish me luck!

(Just read everyone’s advice from the last time I spoke in church and I’m feeling better about it already! Thanks guys!)

Thought by me, made by Jim.

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Happy Valentine’s Day, to the one who made me believe it. xoxo

Background: A few days ago, Elijah told Jim about something one of his friends had done that I felt like his mom needed to know about. Obviously, I called her and told her.

Elijah: Joe* is grounded.
Me: Oh yeah, how come?
Elijah: Oh you know, because of what I told you about the other day.
Me: Oh yeah.
Elijah: It’s very mysterious how parents always find out about stuff like that.
Me: Mmm hmm…

*Name changed to protect the guilty.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

California was beautiful and Elijah and Lola and Ava had a blast together. Liesl’s husband Ryan has this awesome job at Pinterest, a wildly successful startup. I felt pretty cool visiting their office and getting a t-shirt. We spent a day in Monterey and visited the army base where we lived for a year. Our old military housing got bulldozed and replaced by these amazing craftsman homes. Definitely an upgrade for the lucky people who get to live there! We spent hours at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The kids loved it and I got some great photos. It’s way overpriced, but definitely worth going to once a decade or so!

We spent one evening in San Francisco. On the way up (during rush hour – not the best idea!) we got stuck in traffic and Elijah had to pee in a McDonalds cup. I was laughing so hard I was crying. Elijah would kill me if he knew I posted about that online! {Just a tip – if someone has to pee in the car, it’s best to use a cup with ice in it. It minimizes the splash factor and keeps it fresh so you don’t have to smell it until you can dispose of it. You’re welcome.} That night we wandered around on Pier 39 looking for someplace to eat for like an hour. Of course we wanted some authentic San Fran seafood. And of course we somehow ended up at Joe’s Crab Shack. It was actually really good. We all ate incredible amounts of crab legs in our awesome bibs.

All in all, the trip was a great success. We rented a car and thus avoided the road trip hassles we’ve experienced on past vacations. It was really good to see Liesl and Ryan and the girls again. Audrey was an angel in the car for the most part. She is such a good baby. So that’s the trip recap. Lots more photos here.