February Birthdays

Paige and I had birthdays!

My birthday was fantastic. Jake did a really good job taking care of me. He took me out for a morning of lunch and shopping while Paige hung out with friends (thanks, Michelle!). While we were out my wonderful friends went into my apartment and decorated it. I came home to find my living room filled with amazing decorations, complete with my favorite cake in the fridge. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture. =(

There were a ton of balloons scattered all over the floor that TERRIFIED Paige. The first day she refused to walk into the room with all the balloons. She asked to be carried across the floor. The next day, she would approach the edge of the room, peek in and make sure she could see where the balloons were before she ran through quickly. She was so relieved when I cleaned up the balloons that she kept saying "mommy clean up balloons!"

Paige loved her birthday the next day. She kept walking around (for several days actually) singing "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to Paige. Happy birthday to you." She loved opening her presents:

And she loved blowing out her birthday candles. Ever since she saw me blow out my candles and kept asking for the "fire again!" On her birthday we put candles on my half-eaten cake for her to blow out (since I had made her a cake for her party the next day).

Here are the cakes I made for our party:

The ladybug is Paige's cake and she LOVED it. She talked about the "ladybug on cake" for days. Unfortunately, the next day Paige spiked a random fever so we had to cancel the party. Needless to say, I ate a lot of cake over the next few days.

Thanks to everyone for making it such a great birthday!

Christmas in Colorado

We had a really fun time in Colorado for Christmas.  Well, mostly.  Paige ended up getting sick and was not too happy for a lot of the trip.  She got a nasty fever that made her really super cranky and clingy.  Toward the end of the trip she started to feel a little bit better, but most of the time she wasn't too happy.
Here's some of what we did (not in any special order):

Posing for pictures before church on Christmas Day

Jake's family does a Special Night on Christmas Ever, where the family reads the Christmas story from Luke and eats things that would've been eaten in the time of Christ.

Paige, slightly oblivious, going for Riley's Rapunzel cup.

Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner with Baby Crew:

Chad and Jenny (congrats to the newish mommy and daddy!) with Baby Crew.

I'm helping Paige open her present since she was quite cranky.  She cheered right up though when she got the skittles, baby swing, new baby, and other fun things that were inside.

We love being around all the cousins!

Mark and Jezden:

Jace:

Riley:

Brinley:

Jaron:

Will:

We're blessed to be so close to all our extended family in Colorado, so we were able to have Christmas at the Brison's too.

Jake and I discovering our swag.  Paige again cranky and clinging to me.

Bryan, Holly, and Erik (content with his new blanket):

And we got to meet Little Heidi for the first time! Nothing makes Heidi smile more than this monkey she has here:

Heidi and Paige hanging out on the counter of Uncle Erik's house.

Grandpa Brison and Little Heidi:

 

 

Merry Christmas, Brison Style

The Brison Family


This family picture is soon to be outdated since Holly is having a baby in July. But for now, this is us!

Christmas in Virginia

Since we spent Christmas in Colorado, we had our own little mini Christmas in Virginia before we left.   Paige made a chain to count down the days until Christmas.  She really struggled with the idea of just doing one link per day, so on the day we did our VA Christmas we just let her go wild and rip the rest of it.

Opening presents.  Paige was so serious about it.

Jake got me a new Nook!  I was so excited.  I was happy with the one I had, but this one (the new touch screen) is WAY cooler.  Jake's the best.

All Work with Some Play

Right now I'm working on a project with the National Air and Space Museum. A few times a month I go to the museum to collect data. Of course since I have the most awesome job in the world, I get to see some cool things too.

These are some pictures taken at the Udvar-Hazy museum. This is a Cessna plane that I got to sit in.

Best job ever.

Gringerbread Houses

Our friend Emily has an awesome tradition of making gingerbread houses each year.  This year we got together to make the gingerbread houses while the boys were toiling away at their law school exams.  

Paige was so intent on putting candies onto the house... at least until she discovered how delicious candies are.  Then she was QUITE intent on eating the candies.  

Christen, Emily, and Michelle.  These girls are the BEST.

Paige posing with our creation:

Thanksgiving

I made a turkey!  Growing up I loved helping my mom make the turkey (I love basting turkeys while they cook!).  This year we invited some friends over for dinner and I made a turkey (obviously I'm pretty proud about that turkey).

Paige liked to see the turkey cooking through the oven door.  I had to leave the oven light on for most of the day while it cooked because Paige kept asking to see it.  For months afterward she kept saying "the turkey's in the oven!"