Bott Family Pictures

You wouldn't know it but to get family pictures this year was a huge accomplishment for me. Trying to find a time that fit into everyone's schedule was next to impossible. We ended up having to reschedule two different times, and by the time we actually did get everyone there for the pictures it was literally about 20 degrees, so we were all pretty much freezing! I don't know, if we opt to do them next year I think we are going to do them VERY early in the fall or in the summer, that way we don't have to deal with the freezing temps and everyone's crazy schedules!

Dallin, Landon, and Ella

Dave, McKenna, and I

Kenna and I

Dave, McKenna, and I
(Apparently I can't stand up straight!)

Ashley and I
(Isn't Ash a babe!)

McKenna

My Whole Family

Shayla and Jocelyn

Ryan, Dallin, Ella, Callie, and Landon

Temple Christmas Lights

Last Saturday we were able to go and checkout the lights at the Salt Lake Temple with Stephanie and Derek and their kids and Tiffany and John and their kids. It was fun, but the crowds were absolutely crazy because of the Tabernacle Choir Concert. Also, the kids liked the lights, but they could only handle so much, so by the time we left all of the kids were really ready to go.

Regan, Miri, Kenna, and Brynn are all in the choo choo
(the coolest thing ever)

Kenna and I with the lights

Stephanie, Tiffany, and I in front of the temple

Dave, Kenna and I in front of the reflection pool

It's a................GIRL!

We found out unexpectedly today that we are having another baby girl! I had a checkup and out of the blue my doctor asked if we wanted to know the sex if he could tell. Dave and I both said yes! Our new little baby was a good sport about it and yep, there was nothing there!
McKenna is going to have a baby sister! I am so excited to have two little girls so close!

McKenna is going to be a Big Sister!

Yep, we are working on number 2! I can't even imagine having two of my own, but come next May, it is going to be the case. I am currently 14 weeks along, and due on May 31st. I don't know if this is common, but with McKenna I didn't start showing for a long time, but with this one I am already showing! I am at the unfortunate chubby stage where you just look like you are putting on weight, but thank goodness it doesn't last too long! We are a absolutely thrilled that our family is growing!

Locked Out!

I had quite the scary experience last Saturday, right now McKenna is going through a phase where she loves closing doors and locking them. Our bathrooms doors are all more often than not locked, same thing with my bedroom door.

So on Saturday McKenna and I ran to the grocery store, when we got home I was unloading the groceries, I put my purse in the house along with McKenna. I had one more bag and a gallon of milk to grab, I had them both and was walking into my house when McKenna closed the door and locked it! I had no idea what to do, my purse, my phone, along with my keys and Daves' were all in the house! I totally panicked, I ran around to all of the doors, but I knew they would all be locked, I am much too anal about that kind of thing. Then I ran back to the garage door and spent the next five minutes trying to convince McKenna to open the door for me. I could hear her playing with the doorknob, but no such luck on actually unlocking it.

I then ran as fast as I could over to Stephanie and Derek's house! I crying pretty hard by this time because I had to idea how we were going to get into my house! Derek and Stephanie were wonderful, they dropped what they were doing (getting ready for Miri's 4th birthday party) and Derek ran back to my house and Stephanie gave me her phone so I could call Dave. Dave was amazing, he game up with a fabulous solution to get into our house that didn't involve breaking any windows or doors,and was so calm! Derek was able to get into our house and unlock the door in just a minute or two! When he got into the house McKenna was totally fine, she had gone through the groceries and had gotten out the cookies and was walking around the house with them.

I can't tell you how hard I prayed that McKenna would be okay until we were able to get to her. I know it wasn't that big of an emergency looking back now, but I can't tell you how helpless I felt when my baby was in the house getting into who knows what, and I couldn't do a thing to get to her. I feel so blessed that we have family that lives so close, it was such a wonderful comfort knowing that I could run to Stephanie and Derek and know that they would do whatever they could to help me. I am so blessed!

Snow Bunny!

Kenna all ready to go out and play in the snow!

Sunday was the first time we dressed Kenna in her snowsuit and taken her outside to play in the snow. It was so cute because she didn't really know what to think of it. Her snowsuit is great because it makes her as wide as she is tall, but at least it keeps her warm! I am sure you have noticed, but we don't have gloves that actually fit her yet, so the whole time she was trying to take them off! Her favorite part of it was helping Dave shovel the driveway and sidewalk. Next time we will have to make a snowman!

Check out McKenna on Babysteals.com tomorrow!

Today I had to run to Babysteals to pick up a gift I purchased for my niece, I took McKenna with me because she is my little buddy, and she always comes with me. Anyway, when I walked in the showroom a lady yells "A baby, not only that, but a cute baby!" When I take Kenna places I am used to people commenting on how cute she is, (what can I say, my baby is cute), but this was a little over the top! Then the lady comes over and explains that she is the photographer for Babysteals and needs a cute kid to model the shoes that they are selling tomorrow. They couldn't have picked a more perfect product for McKenna to model, because she LOVES shoes. I have to say at that point I was feeling a little embarrassed because I just grabbed Kenna after her nap, and she wasn't exactly looking her best, but what can I say, the lady still thought she was cute! The shoes will be posted tomorrow morning at 9am, and they will be up on the website until 9pm. Needless to say, McKenna is making her modeling debut tomorrow on Babysteals.com! Check her out!

Halloween Pictures!

I know that Halloween was last weekend, but I have some great pictures that I couldn't resist sharing! Kenna's 2nd Halloween wasn't a great success, unfortunately. It was raining so hard on Saturday night that we ended up only going to 5 houses and by that point she was crying, cold, wet, and pretty much miserable. In her defense, I do have to say that we have all been sick on and off for the last month, so when we left to go trick or treating she wasn't feeling too great to start with. So she went took her home and put her to bed, which she was completely happy with. Maybe we will have better luck next year.

On Sunday, Halloween, we ate dinner at the Garlicks and were able to see all of McKenna' s cousins in their great costumes, and then we went over to my families and saw everyone. Overall it was a pretty good Halloween!

McKenna saying "cheese" right before trick or treating

McKenna was pretty much done with pictures by this point

Here we are trekking through the rain to trick or treat.
This is Regan, Vance, Lia, and Brynn


Kenna, Tiffany and I trying to stay dry while trick or treating


Kenna and her little pumpkin

Julianne and Gracie (as an Asian Princess)


Grandpa Garlick wearing Kenna's Witch Hat

Kylee, Kenna, Me, and Abi
(I was trying to get this shot without me in it but Kenna would not hold still long enough)


All of the Garlick Grandkids intheir costumes
You will notice that all you can see is Kenna's bum? Yes, that is because she was determined to go back into the house! This gets harder and harder with the more Grandkids!

Snow!!

Here Jess, this picture is just for you! This was my back yard the morning after I did my last post on snow! We had a little over a foot, enjoy the warm weather!

Halloween Party

Kenna and Brynn are running with all of the other kids

Kylee, Jake, and Abi are watching all of the chaos

Kenna thrilled that she got her scary eye glasses


Here are all of the younger girl cousins
Miriam, Lia, Brynn, Kenna, and Claire along with Jakey


Yesterday we went to a fun little Halloween Party with Kenna's cousins on the Garlick side. I have to give serious props to Tiffany, the girl who hosted the party, she is amazing! She had food, crafts, and games and gift bags for I think for around 35. She was doing a fabulous job entertaining the kids, I know that Kenna had a blast. I think she liked watching the older kids playing more than anything else. Kenna is a little witch for Halloween this year, and she absolutely loves wearing her costume. I didn't even know she knew the word hat until she wanted her witch hat back on and kept on saying hat and pointing to her head. She loves her witch hat so much that the day we bought it she didn't want to take it off. She was wearing it in the car and ended up falling asleep with it on! I can't wait to go trick-or-treating with her this year, I think she will have so much fun.

First Snow of this Winter!

I woke up this morning and what did I see, oh yeah, that's right, SNOW!!!!! I didn't get outside and take a picture like I should have, apparently that is going to have to be the next storm as most of the snow has already melted, but I had about an inch and a half covering everything! I don't know if I am ready for this, I could use about another month of fall if at all possible. Winter is coming......

Busy Month, Big Slacker

It seems that as soon as things start getting cooler they start getting busier too. I don't know if it just me but we have had the busiest month. Another aspect that added to the chaos of this month is McKenna, Dave and I have all been sick, never fun.
I don't know about you, but I love October! I know I am bias since my birthday is this month, but that is not all of it. It is such a fun transition month, it goes from being warm outside to getting really chilly, it also gets dark so much sooner. Isn't it so much fun to go through your closet and get out all of your sweaters and scarves? I love it, it is like having an all new wardrobe!
Even those who don't enjoy the fall have to admit that the leaves are amazing! I love our gorgeous mountains! They are the most amazing colors this time of year!
I have to admit that I am not quite ready for winter, but I LOVE the FALL!

17 Months Today!

I can not believe that McKenna is actually 17 months old! It seems like yesterday was her first birthday, and last week she was born. This may not be all that exciting to anyone else, but I wanted to make a list of all of the things she is saying now, that way I would have a record. It seems every day she is picking up new words, for example today she finally started saying thank you. Kenna is such a Daddy's Girl, the only words that she will string together are "Hi Dada," or "Bye Dada."

Kenna's Words:
Whoa (her first word)
Ball
Mama
Dada
Baba
Kenna
Pants
More
Shoes
Socks
Button
Balloon
Bubble
Light
Eye
Please
Yes
No
Thank you
Snack
Pasta
Cheese
Yum-Yum
Spoon
Hi
Bye
Push
Up
Gaugey
Jakey
Gas
Ash (as in Aunt)
Grandma

Also, I have to include the animal sounds she can make: Monkey, Lion, Tiger, Bear, Owl, Cow, Dog, Fish, Goat, Sheep, Snake, Crocodile, and Rabbit
I am sure that a missed a few of them, I will have to update this as I think of them, but I think this is pretty accurate

Bathing Beauty

I feel really guilty, it has been such a long time since I have posted! We have had so much going on for the last couple of months that I haven't taken the time to write it all down. I am going to do a big update post soon, but as you can see, this is obviously not it!
McKenna is such a little character, ( I know I have mentioned it before), she can be such a little ham if she wants to. It is funny because lately whenever we try to take her picture she looks away, but when I got it out when she was in the tub tonight she was so excited. Actually every time I stopped taking her picture she would say more!
I haven't taken a ton of pictures of my little baby in the tub, I know some parents are big into that, I am just not, but the other night she climbed up onto the little area with the built in soap dish and hung onto the little bar there and just stayed there! I was laughing so hard but when I called Dave in so he could see she got down and wouldn't get back up! So Dave, these pictures are for you!

Our Guest

I don't know if I have mentioned it before, or nearly enough, but Dave is truly amazing! He is so motivated when it comes to household projects! For quite some time he has wanted to put an epoxy coating down on our garage floor, so last week he decided to take the time to do it. The only major drawback of installing it is that it has to dry for 24 hours before you could walk on it, so we had to leave the garage door up just a little bit. This is what came into our garage when we left the door up! I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but it is absolutely disgusting! It makes me very paranoid to just let McKenna go outside and play because thus far we have had two black widows and now this spider! I love where we live, but the spiders are really freaking me out!

Happy 7th Anniversary!

We made it! Seven years! I feel so blessed to be married to my wonderful husband Dave, he really is the greatest! He is the most driven, hard-working man that I have ever met!
This year to celebrate our anniversary we bought kayaks. It is something that we have always wanted to take up, so we decided that this was the year we were going to do it. My Mom and Ashley were kind enough to watch McKenna so Dave and I could kayak down the Provo River. Seeing as how this was pretty much the first time that either of us had even kayaked it was a lot of fun and the Provo was about the perfect speed for us. We just need to work on our Eskimo rolls so we can handle something a little more intense. We have so much fun together! I can't wait to see what the next seven hold for us!

My Silly Baby

I feel like the luckiest person in the world! I happen to be the Mother of the sweetest, funniest little girl! I know that everyone thinks that, but I really think my baby is! McKenna has the funniest little personality! She is such a tease, and she is such a little sweetheart! She loves to be chased around the house, so she will grab Hudson's binkie out of his mouth and then run off with it, hoping that he will follow her. She is such a blessing in my life! I am so happy that I get to be her Mom.

Kenna in Vintage

It is so much fun to have a little girl! My Mom is so wonderful, she kept quite a few pieces of clothing of mine, and gave them to me. It is so much fun to dress Kenna in them! I don't really remember wearing any of them, but I do have pictures of me in them! Here is a cute little jumpsuit!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July! I thought for sure that it would be nice to have it spread out over the weekend instead of just one day, but I think I was wrong. We had the busiest weekend and I was actually glad to start the new week so we could get back to normal life! We started off on Saturday morning with a neighborhood parade and block pancake party. It was fun but cold, can you believe it? It was July 3rd and it was freezing. I actually had to run home to get a jacket and a blanket for McKenna! Other than the temperature it was a lot of fun! Then that evening Dave and I went to the Stadium of Fire! Carrie Underwood was performing, and it was so awesome! I have been to quite a few Stadium of Fire's and this was by far the best one. They have finally figured out how to do it. There are were a few acts before Carrie and they kept them short and sweet. Then Carrie preformed for about an hour, and I have to say sheis so good in concert. The fireworks were good, but at one point they shot into the crowd and some people got hurt. I think one lady was actually on fire! Security came and took them away, it was pretty crazy.
Then on Sunday we went to church and then that evening we went up the canyon and had a picnic with my family. It was so much fun, and McKenna had a blast! She was running around with all of her cousins, and had the time of her life.
Monday morning we went to the Provo Fourth of July Parade with Dave's family. It is always so much fun! This was McKenna's first parade and she did really good. As long as she was sitting on either Dave or I she wasn't scared with all of the loud noises. I think she didn't really know what to think with all of the chaos. After the parade we went to my parents and had a BBQ and went swimming. McKenna is getting more and more comfortable in the water. After swimming we went to Dave's parents and had another BBQ. Then all of the little cousins swam in a wading pool. It was out of control! There were 7 kids ranging from ages 8 down to 1 trying to play in the water! I think McKenna had fun, but she came away with some war wounds. That evening we did fireworks with the Garlicks. Every year Dave gets really into the fireworks, it is so funny, he likes to put on a show. He ended up with a couple of little burns, nothing to serious, thank goodness.
It was a great weekend! I am just glad that it is over!

Stadium of Fire Fireworks

Carrie Underwood

Dave, McKenna, and Gauge playing in the park

Ella and Kenna at the park

Dave and Kenna at the Provo Parade

Kenna and I at the parade with Gracie and Abi

My cute little family at the parade

Kenna playing in the pool at the Garlicks

All of the Garlick Grandkids playing in the kiddie pool

Dave playing with the fireworks