Birthday Boy...

I can't believe that our little Max is one year old!!!! We had an awesome birthday weekend with friends and family and I know that he loved every minute of it. Reese was such a good big sister and didn't complain once about the special attention we gave to Max. The fact that we bought her presents for Max' birthday helped smooth things over... now she is going to think she gets presents on everyones birthday... we are creating a monster! Anyway, on his birthday we took him to the beach where both he and Reese totally got tagged by waves... clothing was optional towards the end of our time there! Max is on the verge of walking, but would rather speed crawl around so he can keep up with his big sis. He has the sweetest disposition and totally lets Reese maul and body slam him to the ground... she loves to wrestle. Max is already a chatterbox and crawls around saying "hi" and "wow"... its hilarious. I think he is going to be a lot like Matt... he's very laid back and happy (let's hope he gets his dad's sense of humor too!). He is such a good boy and we love him to pieces. Happy Birthday Bubba!

You Say Potato, I Say Potahto...

Our ham...



Refuses to even look at the camera (unless you catch her completely off guard, or hide the camera in some way!)




Stealing the show again...

Our Big Nine Month Old...

... and I mean BIG! The Duke is weighing in at a whomping 23 lbs. these days!!! I swear my left bicep now twitches at the end of the day because he is such a chunk to lug around! Max talks ALL day long... and usually he's yelling at me. The boy has some pipes and it is so cute to hear him discover the new sounds that he can make. I absolutely love making him laugh! He is so easy to please and thinks the funniest thing around the house is his sister. He is so laid back and just happy whenever anyone gives him some quality one on one time (a rare thing when you have a two year old diva in the house!). We love him to pieces, and I especially cannot wait until he walks... so my poor arms and back will finally have a much needed break! We love you bubba!

Merry Christmas...

To all our friends and family, we love you and hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Back in the Game...

So it's been awhile... I get it... Needless to say it has been an eventful couple of months. Because it has been so long, what used to be simple "blogging" has turned into a seriously daunting task... there are just too many pictures/stories to "recap" in one, let alone three or four, entries. As a result, I give you the following... my favorite pictures from the last couple of months and even better, a promise to blog more consistently and frequently in the future. Enjoy!



The kids bouncing on my knee during our Mortensen Family Reunion back in September.



Max as "Max" from Where the Wild Things Are... his first halloween...



Reesey on her way to church...



Reese and I at the Zoo celebrating her second birthday... such a big girl...



Matt and the Duke at Yosemite... such a gorgeous backdrop (and the models aren't that bad looking either!)

Summer Days...

Thought we would give you a few photos of the kiddies... we just got back from visiting family up north... we have been trying to spend as much time at the beach as possible... enjoy!





think she was tired?






don't judge...




good big sister...

New Addition...

Welcome to the family little Singer! I am so excited because I have wanted a serger for a while and now I finally have one! I am looking for any and all advice I can get on how to operate this thing. Thinking about taking a class but don't know if it's worth it since this is a hand me down. Do I know how to use it?.. No. Do I know how to thread it?.. No. Am I excited for my next project?.. You betcha.