"To Infinity and Be-zizzal*!"

*AKA: "Beyond"

When we first introduced Toy Story to Stone a while back, he would run around pretending to be Buzz Lightyear, saying, "To infinity, and be-zizzal!" He quickly learned it was actually, "beyond". I find myself slower to correct his cute mis-pronunciations these days, I guess thinking that it will slow down time just a bit, and let him be my little {baby} boy. For instance....this weekend, he said, "Trickler Treat!" Next year he will know exactly how it's pronounced, so after a few corrections this weekend, we decided to let it be. :)

Sooo....we were the Toy Story gang, and although Bo Peep is no longer part of the cast, we brought her back. Getting Halloween costumes ready each year turns out to be a little {a lot}stressful, but it's all worth it in the end. It's important to Stone. Remember how he was Green Lantern for his birthday? Well, on Cliff's birthday a few days ago, he said, "oh, but Mommy!!! What's daddy gonna be for his birthday?!" So, we all dressed up again this year (last year, due to some traveling, we skipped the family theme)...

Introducing: Bo Peep, Her Little Sheep, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody.

First up, family picture. Stone was a little grumpy in this picture, but it was the only family one we got...

Stone loves Toy Story. He was THRILLED when we surprised him with his wings Thursday night. I had them hidden, but after seeing Toy Story 3 for the second time with some friends at the dollar theater Thursday night, we thought it'd be the perfect time to pull them out.
And here's my little sheep. Poor girl screamed her heart out the first time I pulled this costume over her head. Good thing we had a dress rehearsal with costumes Friday afternoon when we visited Cliff at his office. I was able to stretch it out a bit when we got home to avoid her feeling like she was going through birth all over again...

Doesn't she make the cutest dang sheep you have ever seen? We sure think so!

The best part of this quick candid below is his shoes are on backwards.

Halloween is always a fun holiday! Everything is so much better with kids. We had a blast again this year with the costumes. We went to a church party last night, and went around a little bit tonight. I wonder how long Stone will be Buzz. He barely put his Superman cape to a temporary rest just before he turned into Green Lantern for his birthday.

Happy 28th, Babe!

I can't believe this was the TENTH year for me to celebrate October 27. Granted, Cliff was away for 2 of them (on his mission for our church). But TEN birthdys to celebrate together?! Wowzas!

I really wanted to get a birthday portrait of Cliff, but by the time we got outside, our sunlight was pretty much gone. I'm kind of OCD when it comes to birthday portraits for my family. I like them ON THE BIRTHDAY. I guess we will have to do his portrait a day late, though.

I did, however, take the picture below. Can you believe Stone has clothes on?! Well, it's one of Cliff's suit coats, and underneath, he is shirtless.

I love my husband so much. He is funny, smart, talented, an awesome husband, and an amazing father. I'm glad we got to celebrate him yesterday. HE'S THE BEST!

oh, and as a side note, see how Emerson is tugging his ear? That's her thing with her Daddy. She never does it to me, but she always tugs/massages Cliff's ear when he is holding her. CUTE, huh?!

9 Months?!

Miss Emerson Rose is 9 months old today! You know what that means! A little photo shoot, complete with a ruffly, lacy romper (yes, oh yes!). And the heels have made their third appearance on this blog. She {okay, I} can't get enough of those.

Has she really been outside the womb as long as she was inside?! This nine months has gone by MUCH faster!

I'm in love with my black and white edits from this shoot, so you get to see both.


And I love her little tongue. I need to pull out some baby pics of me and my tongue. My Grandpa Bracken used to call me "Tongue" when I was a baby because I always had it out. ...just like this:

And these last two are just to show how cute she is standing up!!

Isn't she too little for this? She is on the verge of walking. She takes about 4 steps, then looses balance.

This girl's first tooth finally broke through! About a month ago, she stopped sleeping through the night. Not my favorite thing. My mom thought it might be from teething, but this girl was showing no signs of teething, except for waking up during the night. She has been completely and totally happy. Not even a fussy moment. The first night after it had completely broke through, she slept through the night again, and has been ever since.

Cliff says she's way better than a cute puppy. HAHA, and what he means by that....is that she gets SO excited when someone walks in the room. She smiles, giggles, and bounces up and down. Getting her from her crib is the best. We loooove her and we adore her.

Freedom

What does freedom mean to you?

To Stone, it means sneaking out in the dark to ride his car.

The other night, I was broiling a couple filets when our kitchen quickly filled with smoke and the detectors went off. Something burned in the oven (not our filets, thank goodness!), and our home quickly filled with smoke. We opened the garage to let out the smoke and get some fresh air. I noticed Stone strapping his helmet on while in his undies, but didn't think much of it.

Next thing I knew, he grabbed his car out of the garage, and decided to go on a bike ride sans clothes, by himself, in the pitch black. He was so quiet and sneaky about it! Good thing I had my eye on him, but he had no idea. He thought he was free.

We let him take a few laps around our place, and coaxed him back inside (which is never easy). He is ALWAYS entertaining us.

A good pair of shoes...

...makes me happy. Specifically, a good pair of heels. HIGH heels.

You may recall Emerson's 6-month photo shoot, complete with her first pair of heels, courtesy of my mom and my Aunt Leann. To die for, right?

Well, they were definitely the hit at church today. She got quite a bit of attention, and it actually made her a bit shy. She buried her head in Cliff's chest as everyone was admiring her shoes in the parking lot after church. That sounds A LOT more like Cliff than me.

I'm making sure she is wearing these heels to appropriate occasions as often as possible since she is on the verge of walking. Once she starts walking, she won't get to wear these shoes! {yes, on the verge of walking....took about 4 steps last night. She has work to do on her balance, and believe me, we are not encouraging another young walker!}

And so of course, an impromptu photo shoot was necessary this afternoon. Isn't her dress DARLING? A colleague sent it as a gift when Emerson was born, and she is now fitting into it. Thanks, Debbie, it's beautiful!!

These two are SO cute to watch together these days. Stone can get Emerson laughing like no one else. She tries hard to keep up with him.

As far as this guy, he was also entertaining at church today. Sometimes he's a little less than quiet {HA} during church, and says things that make people around laugh, and make us cringe.

Some guys were quizzing Stone after church today on his superhero knowledge, and he passed with an A+. They asked him to show what each superhero does (i.e, Spiderman shoots his webs). I think they thought they were being sneaky when they pulled out Green Lantern, but had they known he was Green Lantern for his 3rd birthday, they would not have been so surprised. :)
Hope you had a great weekend!

Cinderella

Emerson's new hiding place:
We've caught her covered in soot trying to eat any hidden piece of charcol three too many times now. If I leave her alone for one second, I find her in the fire place painted in ashes (and it's a clean fire place!). She's even managed to move the gate and toy box that had it blocked off.

She also has been scolded for the first time by Cliff (for putting something in her mouth that he kept taking away), and oooooh man, she hammed up the biggest frown imaginable. I didn't know it was possible already at this young age. Pulled on Cliff's (and mine!) heart strings. What are we in for?! We loooove this girl SO much.

And Stone continues to love love love her. At the gym the other day, he picked her up in the day care center, looked at a little boy and said, "She is MY Emerson." And carried her away. Funny boy he is.

We are lucky and proud parents.

Refreshed

What a refreshing weekend all around! Some high school football , General Conference, my first photo shoot here in Longview, lots of laughs, and a trip to the park this evening to burn {Stone's} excess energy.

1. High School Football--We headed to a high school football game Friday night, complete with concession hot dogs, nachos and a diet coke. Stone entertained those sitting around us, as he mimicked the drum major's every move. I feel like I just graduated high school yesterday, but then I realize I actually just graduated college. Oh wait, then I realize college graduation was 4 years ago. Was 2003 really that long ago? {sigh}

2. General Conference--What an uplifting weekend. Exactly the recharge I needed. I look forward to hearing the prophet and other leaders of our church at each conference (twice a year), and this weekend was just as inspiring as I had hoped it would be. There's not a doubt in my mind that our church is led by the man of God. I don't judge those that have different beliefs than me. I have dear friends that hold different belief systems or belong to other religions, but when I hear the words these leaders speak, there is a burning inside that what they say is true, and I just yearn for those friends to hear what I hear and to know that there is a God who loves us. And he knows us individually. He wants us to be happy, and we are blessed with a prophet to help guide us down a path that leads to true happiness. The world tries to tell us that we don't need these things or beliefs that I cling to. But how is that, when it brings such peace, comfort, and clarity to my life? I guess what I'm saying, is General Conference was wonderful, and exactly what I needed. :)

3. First Longview Photoshoot--I'm ready to finally start promoting my business out here. August was our crazy traveling/moving month. September was our settling in month. October is "let's do this" month. And it started out with a senior session. Check out my photo blog here, for a preview of a beee-utiful senior.

4. Park--And below are a few shots from our evening at the park. Stone is THE energizer bunny, and so we escaped our home for the park this evening once Conference wrapped up. The weather this weekend was absolutely perfect. The air seems more dry, it's crisp, and it's cool. Hooooray for Autumn!

I hope everyone's weekend was as refreshing as mine!