Ketchup

I have SOOO many random pictures that need to be posted!! They are all totally unrelated and some at least a month old, but they are too cute not to make the blog. So this is my playing catch-up...

Forever ago when we went to the zoo, Dallen loved playing in the sand at the playground, it kept him thoroughly entertained:
Also at the zoo, we had to double up on stroller space at times throughout the day cause the kids outnumbered the parents by a wide margin:
Dallen reading his books in his rocking chair:

I took apart the sofa a few weeks ago to clean it and Dallen thought it was his own personal fort, and bonus, I found 75 cents:
We have been lucky enough to spend lots of time with our cousins in their backyard lately, Dallen found this Transformers mask leftover from Caden's party a few weeks ago and insisted on wearing it while in the swing and it was too funny:
Dallen recently discovered the ottoman and loves to hang out in it, he asks for "night, night" to get me to open it up to go in there:

We got to run around in the fountains with our friends conference weekend while the Daddy's were away...even though it was freezing the kiddos had a blast!!

Dallen has been busy climbing through doggy doors:
A moment from Shayla's super fun Easter party, Dallen loved hunting eggs and opening them up to find candy inside:
Enjoying his half birthday ice cream with TWO spoons!!
And finally, a family photo op from Hunter's super fun superhero party:We've been having so much fun and here is the proof!! Of course, there is always more fun being had and many more pictures to come...enjoy :)

Life has it's UPS and DOWNS

Life with this little boy makes me feel UP!!

First Time for Everything

Dallen went to nursery at church for the full 2 hours for the first time!! His teachers said he did so good, they only had to come get me to change a poopy diaper :) Before we left for church Dallen even let me snap a couple pictures of his handsome-ness. In fact, for the first time ever he POSED!! And we took advantage...



I can't believe he is such an old man!! I'm afraid if I blink he'll be a sunbeam!!

Party Like A Rock Star

It may have only been a half birthday but we still celebrated!! We had so much fun at the playground, the pool, riding bikes and we even went out for ice cream when Daddy came home :) Love you big boy!!

...And a Half

I cannot believe that today my baby is one and a half!! Where does the time go?Dallen has so much personality for an 18 month old. He is becoming so opinionated and is learning to communicate what he wants. I wanted to make a list of some of the cute things he does lately:

One of my favorite things he does is shake his head yes while asking for something he wants, its so cute and hard to resist!!

He sometimes says “excuse you” when he toots or burps BUT he also says it if you are in his way.

He says “bless you” whenever someone sneezes, even if it’s a stranger, so polite!!

He likes to have a certain sippie cup based on movie characters, they're mostly Finding Nemo but some have sharks and some have other characters and it matters!

Dallen yells “stuck” over and over again if he can’t get out of a position he got himself into, until someone helps him.

He loves to sword fight with anything that slightly resembles a sword: wrapping paper tubes, his horsey on a stick, baseball bats and lacrosse sticks, you get the idea.

He has become an extremely picky eater and instead loves to make a big mess on his high chair and announce “mess, mess”!!

Big D loves to be “outside, outside” and now wants to ride his new “bike”, always to the “pool, pool” (good thing summer is around the corner).

Dallen has this one blanket that his Grandma made that I once rolled him up in and said he was a burrito and now all the time he brings me that blanket, says "burrito" and expects to be rolled up. So cute!!

Dallen is such a big boy and I am so proud of the little man he is growing into. I am so grateful to spend ALL of my days with him, we have become the best of friends!! Happy HALF Birthday Dallen!!

Dallen Scott Bracken
25 and a half pounds
33 and a half inches

Jump on the Band Wagon

For those of you who don't know, my older sister Aubrey is super talented!! She is a great interior designer who has recently decided to try her hand at floral design. She does weddings and parties and individual arrangements and she does them well. You can look at some of her incredible work HERE on her floral blog and sometimes HERE on her personal blog. And most recently she was featured on another design blog you can read HERE. She is amazing and we wish her so much success, but not so much that it keeps her from visiting ;) We love you Aubrey!!

Easter 2010

Our Easter morning went exactly how I hoped it would. When Dallen woke up (in our bed) we took him out to see what the Easter bunny brought and right away he spotted it, a brand new bike. He turned to us, pointing it out and said "bike" just as I'd imagined he would and I captured the moment just as I'd hoped to:He quickly spotted the eggs "hidden" around the room and this was the first one he picked upHe knew he'd find something good inside He continued hunting for eggs And discovering the goodies inside of them (who says babies can't have candy for breakfast once a year?)At last, he discovered the "football" full of stuff and just had to show Mommy and Daddy all the things the Easter bunny brought himHe really wanted Toy Story but the Easter bunny couldn't find a non-Blue Ray (inexpensive) version, but this was great (cheap) instead, "sharRRs"!!Then he remembered the best present of all and decided to give it a try!!After a yummy pancake breakfast and hearing lots of apostolic counsel about the important role of parents, we took Dallen to the park for yummy egg salad sandwiches and great family time.

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday and I am so grateful to have spent it with my little family whom I love so much!! Hope you had a blessed day as well :)

Happy Easter, Dawg!!

Too Cool for the Pool

Facts in Four

I got tagged forever ago but just now did it...

Four Shows I Watch:
1. The Bachelor (when its on)
2. Gossip Girl
3. Grey’s Anatomy
4. Private Practice…and so many more!!!

Four Things I'm Passionate About:
1. My 2 boys
2. "Me" time
3. Shopping
4. Service

Four Phrases I Say A Lot:
1. “Awesome.”
2. "Honey, can you please…?”
3. "Dallen, stop, NO”
4. "I’m tired!”

Four Things I've Learned from the Past:
1. Happiness is a choice.
2. Listen to good advice.
3. Everyone has bad hair days.
4. Fashion is moving in the right direction.

Four Places I Would Like to Go:
1. Hawaii (again & again)
2. Paris
3. Australia
4. Back to NYC

Four Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Cleaned my house
2. Hosted a successful baby shower
3. Went to Costco
4. Updated my blog :)

Four Things I'm Looking Forward to:
1. Eclipse coming out (I know it’s a while but I just saw the preview!!)
2. Moving
3. Pool days
4. NOT summer!!

Four Things I Love about Winter:
1. Wearing boots and sweaters
2. Eating soup for dinner
3. Playing outside
4. Holidays

Four Things on My Wish List:
1. A tan
2. Sleep
3. A house
4. Oh so much more!!!

Four People I Tag:
1. Lyndsie
2. Shayla
3. Emily
4. Amy

Have a Swingin' Birthday!!

Here's hopin' your swing reaches new heights on this your special day :) We love you Auntie Aubrey, happy birthday!!

Happy Birthday to You,

We went to the zoo, We saw lots of monkeys, And wished you were there too!! Sending Happy Birthday kisses to the one and only Mimi!! Hope its a good one :) We love you!!

Back and Forth

After living on the East coast we know what it is like to be so far away from our families. Now that we are so close, we are taking full advantage of the opportunities to see them. In the last six months we have driven back and forth from Arizona to California and Texas to see our family and put thousands of miles on the car. In October Dallen and I hitched a ride with Grandpa to CA. In November we drove to TX for Thanksgiving. In December it was back to CA for more holidays. In January we made a special trip to TX just for a basketball game. In February we jumped back in the car to CA for the bar exam (results still pending). And now in March we last minute road tripped it back to TX to be a part of the newest cousin baby blessing. We just had to take advantage of this rare opportunity of ALL the cousins being together. It was short but very SWEET!!Got to spend lots of time with the bestie... And very little time with the center of attention, isn't she precious?!?! The kiddies had a blast all together Most importantly, Chloe and "Jo-Jo" (that's what she called D) were in "WHAcamole" heaven!!Now, let's just stay home for a while. Feel free to come for a visit though :)

Too Many Birthdays!

This little man and I were best buds when I first moved to AZ years ago. Now he is 5 years old!! That will never happen to this sweet little face...will it?{Dallen thoroughly enjoying his cupcake at Caden's 5th birthday party}

Three Little Monkeys...

Escaped from the zoo!! And who knew...their Moms had fun too!!

Bang Bang, Choo Choo Train

I went in to get my hair done today, totally resolved to grow out my bangs and this is what I came out with...Also, Dallen has learned to push himself on his Mickey Mouse train and can be found "choo-choo-ing" around the house all day!!