MR. CPA

Tim passed the fourth and last section of the CPA exam!! Congratulations hubby! I am so proud of you! Tim has worked incredibly hard studying for this test. He would wake up at 5 in the morning everyday to study, work long days, and then come home to study some more. He also studied on weekends and even during busy season!! And not to mention, he passed with flying colors on every section. (I have the right to brag because I have had no husband since summer!!!) Let me tell you, Tim is a hard worker.
Thank you for working so hard! We love you!

Children's Museum of Atlanta

My sister Leslie and I decided to take our kiddos to the Children's Museum of Atlanta. (Leslie is a nanny.) Marisa had fun exploring and playing in the section for little cute babies like her.

In the garden of the museum.

Crawling through a tree!

Mommy and Marisa!

Playing the piano!

Sandwhich Kisses

Leslie, Marisa, and I loving life in our sweats!

Copycat

As I mentioned before, Marisa is a copycat. So I have decided to take this opportunity to teach her a few things. =o)

I taught her to give hugs! Whenever I ask Marisa, "Can I have a hug?" She gently places her head on my shoulder and wraps her arms around me. LOVE IT!

I taught her to give kisses! Whenever I say, "Blow kisses!" She puts her hand over her mouth then uncovers it while saying, "MMMUAH!"

I taught her to climb stairs! I'm realizing this may have been a mistake....haha. She always wants to climb the stairs.

Climbing up the stairs...

and climbing...

and climbing...

YAY!

I DID IT!

In other news, for a long time now Marisa has understood the word "No". She is really good at listening and will shake her head, say "No", and crawl away to something she knows she shouldn't be doing. But now she has learned to say, "No"...to me...sigh.

Also, Marisa can say "More" in sign language or point to the food she wants, she says "Nana" for banana, she uses a sippie cup perfectly now, she knows the hand motions to "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed...", she can walk pretty well while I hold her hands, and she can do so much more that it is quite amazing to watch. I'm telling you, she is a smart cookie!

Cute in Pjs

Mischievous smile!

Those eyes say it all!

Blowing me a kiss!

I heart my Blackberry

Marisa moves her thumbs up and down and all around like she knows what she is doing. I think she is texting her BFF.

Happy 10 month birthday!

Marisa is now a copycat. She copies words, sounds, facial expressions, movements, hand gestures, and basically everything. When someone yawns, she pretends to yawn, when someone laughs, she pretends to laugh, when someone sticks out their tongue, she sticks out her tongue. You get the picture. Cute story: One night while I was reading a book to her I had an itch on my arm and I quickly scratched my arm. She saw me do it and then she decided to grab my hand and itch my hand! It was very nice of her but she ended up scratching me instead and pretty hard. Funny story: I said out loud that she had a poo-poo diaper and then she looked at me and said, "Poo-poo". I really have to be careful what I say and do now!

I HAVE been tagged

What was the best thing you cooked last week?
I don't cook anymore because I have no one to cook for. I married an accountant who is in busy season right now which makes me a temporary widow. I refuse to cook for just me.

If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who? Italy with my romantic husband

When was the last time you cried? Yesterday when I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition...haha. The stories are so touching.

Five things you were doing 10 years ago? Living in Florida, going to my first church dance, cheerleading, chatting online, excited to start high school

Five things you were doing 5 years ago? Ummm, I don't want to remember 5 years ago but the only good part of that year was that I was about to meet Tim for the first time during FHE

Five things you were doing 1 year ago? Interning at KUTV, anchoring and working for the Daily News, studying in my last semester at BYU, trying to play guitar hero with my huge belly, and waiting for our daughter to enter our lives

Seven of your favorite hobbies: interior decorating, dancing, shopping, blogging, watching favorite tv shows, watching movies, reading

Five favorite foods: pork salad from Cafe Rio, nuts about berries salad from Zupas, lettuce wraps from PF Changs, huevos rancheros from Ruby's, plain tart frozen yogurt with granola from Cherry on Top, and does juice count?

Five places you've been: Bolivia, Hawaii, Bahamas, Colorado, Utah...I need to get out more...haha

Five favorite memories: (in no particular order) I loved every minute of high school, getting married to my handsome husband Tim forever, finding out we were pregnant, giving birth to Marisa, looking into my daughter's eyes for the first time

I wasn't tagged!!

Hi, this is Tim. I wasn't tagged by anyone, but I don't care.

What was the best thing you cooked last week?
N/A

If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who? It really wouldn't matter. I enjoy going anywhere I've never been before.

When was the last time you cried? I don't know. It's been awhile.

Five things you were doing 10 years ago? I had just gotten my driver's license, so I was prolly driving around throwing ketchup packets at cars with my friends (Don't tell Elaine. Especially not on the last day of vacation in Maui).

Five things you were doing 5 years ago? I was just back from my mission in Argentina, so I think I was just learning English. I was also wondering why Sara chose to go to her high school winter formal rather than come to Argentina with Wayne and Elaine to pick me up from my mission. I hope you had fun.

Five things you were doing 1 year ago? Playing Guitar Hero with Tanya, waiting for Tanya's belly to pop, trying to graduate, etc.

Seven of your favorite hobbies: making Marisa smile and laugh, watching the Lakers, anytime I'm not at work, harassing Tanya, looking at maps, making lists about odd (not lame) things

Five favorite foods: Hawaiian haystacks, lasagna,

Five places you've been: Argentina, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, Barstow (I didn't pay for any of it!!!)

Five favorite memories: (in no particular order) Getting married to Tanya, watching Marisa come out of the birth canal, everything about Argentina, family trips, anytime I get together with my high school friends

Miss Grayson High School

Last night was a special walk down memory lane. In my junior year of high school I decided to enter my high school pageant and compete to be Miss Grayson High School. I was blessed enough to win and be the very first Miss Grayson.
6 years later, my beautiful sister Leslie entered the same pageant and won the same title! So last night was the night that Leslie had to pass down the crown to the next lucky girl and Leslie asked me to be a part of it. She thought it would be really neat for both of us to crown the new Miss Grayson since I was the very first one and she is the current one, and we are sisters! How cool is that?
It was surreal to be back at my high school and to be crowning again. But the best part was sharing the stage with my sister as we both passed down our crowns to someone who will hopefully represent herself and the school in a positive light and be an example for what is right to her peers.

Miss Grayson 2001 and Miss Grayson 2007

Southern Hospitality

Marisa and I flew to Georgia this morning to visit my family for three weeks! It is busy season for Tim and since we never see him I thought it would be a good opportunity to fly south for the winter.=o)
I was physically sick this morning because I was so nervous about flying with Marisa alone. I thought my heart was going to come up through my throat. Fortunately, my prayers were answered in many, many ways and everything ran smoothly. Not only was there an extra seat beside me, but a lady at the end of our row felt claustrophobic and decided to sit somewhere else...haha. So that left us with a whole row to ourselves! Marisa had a blast and was right on schedule with napping and eating. She was so happy, laughing, and talking the whole time. She only got fussy when it was time for nap. Also, several cute, thoughtful Southerners talked to me during the flight and even offered help with Marisa and all my stuff. Their kindness not only physically helped me but also mentally made me feel at ease. It definetly feels good to be back to the good ol' Southern Hospitality.

My 24th Birthday

Another year, another birthday. And another year wiser??? Well, maybe not, but I did have a great 24th birthday this year.
Kari my sweet sister-in-law had a birthday breakfast for me with all my friends. She truly is the best because she remembered all my favorites. There was juice (I obviously haven't started my one month fast from juice), candy sweethearts (I love Valentine's Day), and fresh fruit that went along with delicious crepes that she made. SOO YUMMY!
Afterwards, Marisa and I went to the mall where I did a little bit of shopping at Forever 21. Always fun. And later that night, Tim was able to come home early and he took me to PF Changs for dinner and Cherry on Top for dessert. I am offically addicted to the plain tart yogurt with granola. I really want one right now actually...
Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes and gifts. I am so blessed to be surrounded by the BEST family and friends anyone could ask for.

Silver Dollar Pancakes

This morning we went to Ruby's for breakfast to celebrate my birthday since Tim has to work on my birthday. And Marisa had yet another fun first during breakfast. She ordered the Silver Dollar Pancakes from the children's menu! Yummy! And of course, Tim and I split the Huevos Rancheros. Really YUMMY!

Fun Firsts

This past week has been filled with several firsts for our little Marisa. Well, Marisa has grown out of her baby bathtub. Literally. She tries to stand in it and climb out of it. So, she has graduated to a normal bathtub! She LOVES it! She definetly enjoys the extra space and moves all over the place, splashes, and throws her toys around.

Also, Marisa used a toothbrush for the first time tonight! After taking a bath, getting dressed, and brushing her hair, we brushed her teeth. Her doctor suggested to use a wet toothbrush on her teeth so that she can get used to the idea of brushing her teeth. I bought her a really cute little pink toothbrush earlier today that is seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen. Anyways, she watched me get her toothbrush wet and she let me gently brush her two teeth. (Soon to be 6!) She LOVES it! I let her give it a try and it was the most darling thing to see. She put the toothbrush in her mouth and moved her arm up and down to imitate how I brushed her teeth! hahahaha SOOO PRECIOUS!
Right after that, she took the toothbrush and started brushing her hair! haha She knows how to use her comb to brush her hair, so I guess she got a little confused for a moment.

Marisa has had a hard time taking her sippie cup. She doesn't realize she has to suck on the spout. She will let me pour water in her mouth using the sippie cup but that is about it. So while I was at the store buying her toothbrush, I found a sippie cup where the spout is made out of silicone just like the nipple part of her bottle. I figured this would allow her to realize because of the soft, silicone spout, that she needs to suck. The only difference is that it is shaped like a spout inside of a nipple. She realized in a few seconds what to do and she now uses a sippie cup! Good job Marisa!