Made with extra love...

This year for Christmas Katelyn received some fun gifts that were hand made just for her and some that were hand picked too!  I love them probably a ton more than she does, but she looks a lot cuter with them than I do :)

Her Aunt Amber made her some really cute bean bags that she has figured out that she can really  throw them across the room....we are trying to emphasize the tossing part of these so we don't do so much damage.

Grandpa Rudd got her some fun toys that she likes.  She loves the See 'n Say (The toy with the big arrow in the middle that spins around when you pull the crank arm on the side and then plays music or makes the sound of the animal it stops on)  Any animals absolutely captivate her full attention.  She likes anything with animals right now and so that toy was perfect for her as we are having fun teaching her the sounds that animals make now.

Her Great Grandma Rudd sent her a little musical figurine of two little angels and it plays "O Holy Night" and it is so beautiful.  My brother Luke taught Katelyn to kiss the "owies" on her baby doll and when I gave her the angel figurine, she started kissing it ...probably because they had "owies" from being packed away in the box and couldn't breathe very well, poor angels.  That's my little angel...but she isn't angelic enough yet to know not to break the figurine, so the angels sing to her from up on the shelf now (until they need more kisses, of course)

Katelyn's Great Aunt Tina made this super soft adorable stocking for Katelyn.  It has her initials sewn on in beads and each bead was sewn on individually.  It has an angel charm and a Christmas tree charm as well.

On the inside, Great Aunt Tina "signed" this by hand as well.

Katelyn's Aunt Rosie made this shirt for Katelyn.  I told her the wrong size so it will probably fit her better next Christmas, but I had Katelyn wear it this year and just rolled up the sleeves because I couldn't wait :)  

She embroidered Katelyn's name on the shirt as well as the big Christmas tree K initial as well.

I hope she doesn't mind if I show her off, but Rosie has a bunch of really cute items that she makes and sells that are pretty snazzy!  Her website is http://www.wechoosejoy.com/ .  Someday her kids are going to be all decked out with cute things she made.  Lucky kids :)

Katelyn sure is loved by her extended family and loves all the toys and gifts she has been given.  She  has so many people that care about her!

To the Cabin In Idaho

We packed our car tight and headed out of Washington and on to Idaho.  The trip was uneventful as the kiddos in back seemed to be okay with being packed in there.  We were fine with that.  Chris dropped me off at Terryn's house and I got to hang out with her for a day.  We got a little crafty and had a little dance party as well...the usual mom activities.  Little Jack mesmerized me with his big eyes and little mouth.  Terryn calls him her little bird :)

After playing with Terryn, she dropped me off at Chad and Amber's.  Eme and I created Lexis, our turtle complete with a food and water bowl and a bow.  

I only post this picture because David can easily raise one eyebrow, and I have tried and tried with no success.  This was an attempt, but clearly a failed attempt, and I look psycho....but otherwise Nick looks good.

We all gathered at Chad's before we headed out to the cabin.  We all enjoyed goofing off and I caught this silly smile from Liam.

Nick and Christine got some fun toys and Nick was showing Katelyn how to ride the rocking horse and had a cute Uncle Nick moment.  Katelyn seems to really like Nick and will play with him and snuggle up with him.  Katelyn can be picky about who she lets get near her, and she is comfortable with Nick.

Nick will be a good dad....just saying.

We headed out to the cabin. We piled all of us and all of our stuff in the cars and trucks and headed out to the mountains.

Dad set up a nice schedule for clean up and meal prep, so Mom and Amber didn't over do themselves in the kitchen.

We played a ton of games and did a puzzle too.  This shows how much fun we had.....or not.

Katelyn loved chasing her cousins around and didn't seem to mind being the slow one.  They all loved playing together and it was cute to see them all play and laugh together.

We decorated our stockings one night and all tried to get creative.  We raided Mom's stash of craft stuff and went to town.

Nick free-handed the Grinch.  I didn't get shots of the other finished ones but they are all different and fun.

I spent way more time than was necessary and created a penguin stocking holder thing.  I don't know, it got late.

The place got cold sometimes and this little fireplace was a favorite all week.

David's dad and sister were able to join us for this trip.  It was good to have them there and let them see our wild family.

Our little family on Christmas morning....love that little girl!

We attempted to get a cute cousin's shot and Katelyn and Liam weren't really cooperating for the picture and Chad's kids did their best to try to help them :)

Chris and Tricia and Liam were pretty darn cute too!

We HAD to paint our nails.

That little red ball looking thing is a nail dryer and we had to try it out to see how well it worked :)

We got a family picture of the whole crowd.  This looks about right for what our week was like.

We managed to settle down a little and smile.  We seriously missed having Tracie and her clan with us.  They are just too far away!  and...I think it is a little misleading not having Chelsea in this picture...just saying.  I guess she will have her chance to be in future family pictures :)

Mom and Tricia (seriously 30, Tricia...seriously there is no way!) (and Tracie if she were there) have their birthday's a day apart and Mom broke the rules and made her own cake.  David saw the cake when it was done and was shewed away from it multiple times and had to wait ALL DAY before we finally sang to them and ate some cake.  Poor guy!

Like I mentioned yesterday, Katelyn had a day of teething pain and a fever.  She snuggled up with my dad all day when she wasn't in bed sleeping.  She was having a hard time so I took her off away from the crowd to comfort her and let her get away from the noise.  Will was upstairs and Katelyn lit up as she saw him.  He started playing a little peek-a-boo and she forgot all about her tears and couldn't help it.  Will was one of her best buds and brought out lots of laughs and giggles that trip.

We did so much more at this cabin.  There is a lot of stuff that we did while we were there that I saw others taking pictures or videoing so I didn't bother getting my camera out, so we need to do a huge swap somehow with everyone.  Some things that were awesome about this cabin stay...There is a huge slide that was awesome. This was almost better than roller coasters, but easily more dangerous if we wanted it to be.  Abby and I had some bruises that were pretty.  We also decided it would be fun to sled and tube down the hill next to the slide which was equally steep...and fun!  We found another sledding hill that was more kid friendly too.  We had a talent show that showcased some talents we didn't know about.  We had guitar sing alongs.  We had a Christmas program that made cry babies out of most of us.  We had a Family Home Evening that was pretty good too!  We went to church Christmas morning.  We played some "minute to win it" games.  We chopped down a couple Christmas trees.  We played tons of games.  We ate yummy food.  I made everyone eat salad before I let them eat the legendary 5 Cheese Pasta and became the salad Nazi.  We did a fun white elephant gift exchange.  We played ping pong:around the world style.  We played shuffle board on the floor.  We had themes each day for how we claimed our cups (instead of just writing our names).  We stayed up way too late and didn't sleep in because we all love breakfast so much and never want to miss out on the fun.

There really is so much that I don't have in pictures and video, but I know others have it and I am dying to have it! I am trying to think up the best way to gather all the photos and videos from every one...

We flew out and headed home.  We didn't miss that flight :)  Despite Katelyn's day of teething the day before she did fine and didn't seem to have any issues with it!  YAY!  We  made it home and quickly missed having a crowd around to stay up with and laugh at all the quirks and jokes of each other.

Hello from Charlston

This week has been a little different.  When we got back from our fun Christmas vacation out west, we came home to find out that David was assigned to an audit in West Virginia.  Honestly we didn't know where it was or how far it would be.  So we were a little surprised that it was about 6 hours away.  He isn't usually assigned to audits this far away, but they needed some help so he got put on the job.

This is a three week assignment, so Katelyn and I decided to tag along and let David's company spoil us.  We didn't want to be apart for so long after spending so much time apart before Christmas.  I could never be a military wife.

So we have been hanging out here and we are enjoying it.  This city is a little different and strange.  It is kind of dingy/dirty/dark looking (but that might have a lot to do with how rainy it has been, but it did snow and I was hoping it would be so pretty and bright, but it was still grey/dark outside ) and the city is spread out funny as it stretches along the highway instead of a clump like most cities I am used to.  The people are kind of hillbilly but in their own east coast style. They call grocery carts "buggies" and they didn't like it when I giggled about that, but it caught me off guard.  Some people have thick "twang" accents and others are "normal" like me :)  (because I am the perfect normal right?)  There aren't very many colors of people here...just white ones that I have seen.  They are very proud of their high school wrestling and I have heard a lot about the upcoming tournament.  They are also proud that they are the home of Marshall University (WE ARE....MARSHALL!) and the university that has the blue and gold W stacked on the V but they are pretty good at football and basketball I think...I am assuming its West Virginia University or University of West Virginia, but I don't want to ask because I might lose "buggy" privileges for asking such a silly question. :)

Our hotel has a kitchen in it, so we don't have to eat out all the time.  We are too cheap to buy fancy meals at fancy restaurants, so eating out all the time is fast food...which gets really old, really fast.  So it has been nice to be able to get groceries and eat real food and real meals and have someone make our bed and fold our towels really nice :)

Katelyn has enjoyed exploring new places to play and hide.  She is loving the cupboards and drawers now and everything turns into a game of hide and seek with that girl.  I have been putting her hair up on top in a little pig tail (that sounds weird) and it makes her look so much more like a toddler to me.  With not knowing the place and spending a lot of time here at the hotel with her, it has been fun playing with her and not having much to do but soak her up.  I have loved that she likes to have me sit on the floor with her to eat her veggies.  She rarely eats them on her own, but if I get on the ground with her with the bowl between us, she giggles and thinks it is so much fun to be eating with Mom. She really goes to town eating the "yucky" stuff when I am there eating them with her.

She is still loving books, especially ones with cats, dogs, or bears in them.  

She had one really bad day with two big chomper molars coming in and a tooth up front, that made her pretty miserable with a fever for a day.  She slept so much of the day and when she was awake, she just wanted to be snuggled.  She had a day like this at the cabin in Idaho and Papa the snuggly Bare cuddled up with her all day.  This time I got to snuggle with her.  She sure was hot!  She slept through the night and woke up her regular perky self, back to normal.  Those molars haven't come through all the way and have been giving her a hard time so I hope they will be nice to that little girl as they finish coming in.

We ventured out and found a recommended restaurant called SOHO tonight and enjoyed it.  It was a little Italian place and I got some soup that looked disgusting, but it actually tasted good.  It was a pleasant surprise.  It wasn't "that" good of a place from what we ordered, but we saw some things that other people ordered that looked tasty, so maybe we ordered the wrong thing.  

The internet here drives me nuts!  It takes a million years to upload photos and I have been spoiled and had reliable fast internet, so I am not being very patient  with it.  I have lots more to post about the past month and I hope to get it all done before we leave West Virginia and head back to Baltimore because we are going to be busy packing and moving the week after!  YAY!  I am excited to get a little further away from the city, and we get to stay in the same ward!  I also have some new personal goals that have been keeping me busy in a good way.  This year should be a good one!

Visit at home...

So I went home to Washington state (I really don't think this needs to be clarified, but people assume I am from D.C. if I don't clarify which is silly, but I can't win here)...(and why would I FLY home if I lived in D.C. which is an hour away?)  anyways, I flew home on the 10th, barely.  I managed to stay up too late packing, and I scheduled an early morning flight at 7 am.  We set two alarms.  We thought it was fool proof, but when David's went off, he told me I better get up because his phone has no battery and is turning off.  I thought it was no big deal, since I had my phone set to go off in 15 minutes.  But mine didn't go off and I woke up to a beautiful morning at 6:30...when my flight was probably boarding :(  We called the airline and they told me to go check in so they could put me on stand-by for the next flight.  Katelyn and I boarded the next flight across the country just after lunch and made it through our little layover in Denver and arrived in Washington with a soggy diaper and a happy mom and baby welcomed in by my Dad.  We chatted all the way home and I loved being on familiar ground.  There's just something about being home with my parents that is irreplaceable and I love it!

While at home, I was a little busy finishing up some homemade Christmas presents (that thankfully turned out really cute). We went and did some baptisms and it was so nice at the temple(even though everyone...including you Dad...couldn't remember that I am a Rudd now.)  I ran around town getting my body prepped for the Cable Bridge run as well. I went to a couple of the high school basketball games with Dad and the family and watched the boys dominate.  I think that it was almost more entertaining to watch the student section at the game.  They had so much energy and organized their chants and pretty much made the cheerleaders look and sound like nothing compared to them.  There was so much school pride and they let the other schools know they were outdone.

Most everyone got their snuggle time in with Katelyn.  She gives good hugs and kisses now that will melt anyone into a puddle of mushy love for that little girl.  She really liked Luke and would follow him around and wouldn't leave him alone when he got home from school and weights.

 Of course Papa got his snuggle time in.  Whenever Katelyn started getting tired and fussy at night, he would snatch her up and she knew she couldn't fight it and would nuzzle on in and snuggle up until she passed out in his arms.

We spent some time with the great grandparents.  We played the Farming Game with Grandpa Bob and he won again.  I don't remember ever beating him in that game!

We went to lunch with Nana and Liam insisted on holding Nana's hand.  It was fun having Chris and Liam there too.  Katelyn spent a lot of her time watching Liam and copying the things he did.  They had a love-hate relationship the whole trip.  Sometimes they were hugging, giggling and running around while other times they would have to push/elbow/back into/and stiff arm each other to get the best spot for what they both wanted :)

 Mom got a little change to her hairstyle, but Dad said "it's different" and shrugged his shoulders when she asked how he liked it.  We gave him a hard time and tried to coach him on what he should say to his beautiful wife when he asks his opinion :)  I liked it!

 Liam really is fed, but anytime someone has food out, he would often go climb up and sit next to them and silently watch them eat and drink waiting to be noticed and hoping you offer him a bite. One time my dad and I were eating dinner and for some reason we both got up from the table and left our plates full of food at the table.  Liam made his move pretty quick and Katelyn realized what a good idea it was and climbed up too.  When we returned we saw that both of them were helping themselves to our plates and they weren't about to let us back in!

 My dad has always been goofy and playful and active too.  Katelyn is showing no emotion, but he was running and spinning around taking her on the best roller coaster ride ever, and she wouldn't even give a giggle or nothing.  Silly girl.

 We went and watched the Senske lights.  They put up a ton of Christmas lights that are set to music and it is pretty cool.  Matt and Chelsea are modeling the cool glasses that turned all the lights into snowmen.

These two are super cute and fun and Chelsea will be a good addition to the family (wink wink)  It was fun to tease Matt about how nervous he was about all things Chelsea.  He would ask how he looked and asked for advice if colors clashed, or shoes completed his look, and which jacket worked with which shirt and shoes.  He wanted to look his best for this girl and wanted to get a girl's opinion...you know because I know what styles are in.  He worked hard thinking about his Christmas gift to her and wanted it to look just right.  Then when he returned home with the gift she got him, we made him show us what he got and we made way to big of a deal about it all and how cute it all was.  

And Chris is a good creeper :)

 The Cable Bridge Run was a good run.  We all had fun with it and I had to work hard at settling the competitiveness in me, because I wanted to run with my buddy Brooke. As I started running with her I found out that she wasn't feeling good.  So we jogged and took it easy and it was soooooo good to chat with her and I am glad I didn't take off and run ahead of her to finish with a good time.   I know I have been running and training so I know what my time would have been.  I'm glad I stayed with her and had a good chat.  I don't get to see her often enough!

 I love going home and having Mom's home cooked meals.  Not all of our meals were this fancy, but they were all so yummy.

 A couple of 4 generation pictures.  It is sad to think about my grandparents getting old.  We are all a little worried about Grandma Honey with her health, memory and thought processes slowly getting worse and watching her have a hard time.  Grandpa Bob is so good to her though and he is so patient with her.  I hope that when my health starts getting bad and I get old that David will treat me as wonderful as Grandpa Bob has been treating Grandma Honey.

It was nice to see Jeff and Shirley too.  We are usually home and have a big get-together for Christmas and see who gets stuck being the new "lucky" owner of Harvey, the 5 foot stuffed animal bunny.  They stopped by before we headed out to Idaho for Christmas and brought some amazing homemade french bread and gingerbread cookies.  They are always welcome :)

 Katelyn can be the queen of the serious stare down, but she also has some stinkin' cute faces when she gets goofy!

 She also went to town on the chocolate pudding for my "not lemon dessert" dessert.

 We spent plenty of nights up way too late.  Whenever we are together we are amazing at functioning off of no sleep....

 See?  These were taken within 10 seconds of each other and you would never know

Much to Dad's dismay, Maggie got pregnant from a roaming neighbor dog.  The dog came snooping around one night and Dad saw him and scared him off by shouting at him (with no swearing :) good job Dad!)  We think that that boy dog had an idea of what was coming and was just trying to be a responsible father, because that night Maggie had her puppies.  Sadly most of them didn't survive.  Between all of us we guessed, but Maggie wasn't eating much so she probably didn't have the nutrients to provide for all the puppies.  There was one little fighter that made it!  I hope that my parents keep him :)  I also hope that they call him Rolo since he has a pretty caramel color and it seems like the perfect name!

 Katelyn loved petting Maggie and was always so proud each time she pet her.

This little guy was so itty bitty!  Katelyn wasn't so sure, but I loved it!  I can't wait until we live in a place where we can have a fenced in big yard for a big dog...someday.

After a fun filled time in Washington, Chris and I headed out a couple days early towards Idaho where we stayed in a cabin for Christmas....so much good stuff to remember, but that story will come later.