Double Vision

 One of the perks of being married is two Christmases... here is our double Christmas

Christmas morning at the Cutler's

Christmas day at the Pollock's

The pollock cousins

Archery with the Cutlers

Bowling with the Pollocks

Christina loved having extra family around!

Thanks for all the fun!

First Birthday

  A First Birthday Party

Yummy Food!

 

Probably her first taste of frosting

The kids loved the cupcakes! Even cousin Owen got to sneak a taste.

Thank you family for all your help and for a good time!

Chris turned one year old on December 15, 2012 we celebrated a couple weeks later on December 29. I wish I could say that Christina loved her cake but it wasn't so. She stuck her hand right in and when she put some in her mouth we all cheered and scared her. She wouldn't eat any more after that. I don't think she liked the frosting very much (the only part of the cake she tried) because days later she still didn't want any. Maybe she is taking after her Grandpa Cutler and prefers healthier foods.

Happy First Birthday

My Darling Girl!

Month #12

Went and saw Disney on Ice for cousin Ingrid's 2nd birthday! Christina was so excited the whole time--bouncing everywhere, waving her arms, laughing and smiling! I was very surprised by that since this is the girl who only watches TV for 5 seconds. The show was a big hit! The best part was when it snowed on us, she just looked up holding her arms up. 

My little book worm. This is actually a magazine that she destroyed in about 5 minutes.

 This month she learned to open board books all by herself. That is one of her new 

favorite things to do now. Open the book look at the pages

 (whether it is upside down or right side up) and talk to the pages.

Christina loves the cats and Zimbob the dog that live here with us. 

Not so sure they love her though!

We got two Thanksgivings this year! One with the Pollocks at the Chef's Table, yumm! The other with my family, also good! Christina was flirting with the service staff at the Chef's Table. She would smile so big whenever someone would walk by. The picture on the left is Christina eating pumpkin pie, she loved it!

Month Summary (11 months old):

From about the time she could grab things Christina has always been interested in the comb. When every we comb her hair she wants to hold the comb and look at it. Now she has started to try comb her own hair! She usually holds it upside down but at least she understands its' purpose! She has been waving bye bye off and on but now she is starting to do so more often. She is now pretty good at getting down by herself from a standing position. She has also started cruising, walking while holding on to furniture. Soon she will be walking!!! Crazy! She jabbers a lot and is so busy crawling and climbing, she loves exploring! Tomorrow she will be one year old, can't believe how quickly time flies! I Love that little girl!

Month #11

This month was somewhat eventful...

First off, Ben became a real attorney! He was licensed on Oct 16th and 

now has his own practice. Visit his website at www.juniperlaw.com 

Christina didn't come to the ceremony, instead she hung out with aunt Chelsey at her great-grandparents house, the Warren's. Here she is getting acquitted with Granny's doll that just happens to be the same size as her!

Christina said goodbye to friend Ikumi from Japan and said hello to another friend, cousin Ingrid!

Came to play with her greats! Great grandma and grandpa Cutler that is!

Had her first Halloween!!!

Flinstones at the annual Flinders Halloween Party!

Sadly this is all Christina saw of the party. She was super tired, it was about an hour and a half past her bedtime, so there was a lot of crying. Instead of partying she slept downstairs. You can see cousin Corbin in the background, he and his parents where Patcha and his family from The Emperor's New Grove!

This is a picture from her photoshoot with Anisha! Thanks Anisha and Mom for the beautiful pictures!

Came to see cousin Corbin be sealed to his parents at the temple! Congrats Baird Family!!!

Summary (10 months old):

Nothing new in the sleeping and eating department. Although she is a very good eater. Pretty much eats anything and usually eats quite a bit. (You would never know by looking at her though--she is small for her age). Learned to drink from a straw and seems to prefer that now. She loves standing up holding on to furniture, but is not interested in standing if you try to hold her hands. Maybe that is because she doesn't like to hold hands... FYI: Christina is not a cuddly baby. If you hold her too close she pushes away from you. She rarely gives kisses, pretty much only mommy and daddy get those wet things! Love them! She is always so busy getting around and getting into this and that. P.S. the photo to the right is from the same photoshoot--adorable!

Likes: Standing, kneeling, clapping, and playing with magazines

Dislikes: Lying down for changes of any kind

Month #10

One of the biggest things to happen this month was that Christina got her first haircut! Aunt Eva was kind enough to do the honors! Unfortunately Christina was not in the mood to cooperate so we didn't get before and after pictures. The above pictures where taken last month. LOOK how LONG her hair was! (Of course that was just in the back--she has had a serious baby mullet for quite some time. 

 This photo was taken when she was three months old so even then she was rock'n the mullet!

Do you like Christina's coat? It might be a bit on the large side...

This is the first time Christina stood by herself (with support)!

Month Summary (9 months old):

Christina learned to pull up this month! She has been kneeling for sometime but wouldn't quite pull herself all the way up. She loves standing holding onto things. She learned to clap this month and put her hands up in the air when you say, "Big girl". She is really getting around now, crawling so fast. Sleeping and eating habits are the same. 

Likes: crawling, pulling up, being held upside down, and bouncing while sitting

Dislikes: When mom or dad leaves the room (well anyone for that matter, but especially her parents).

Funny Fact: She is sad when someone leaves the room, but if you take her into different room and leave everyone else behind she is just fine. Silly girl.

Month #9

Chris and me at my brother's wedding. She looked so cute! The pic on the right is after the wedding. She loves those shoes she was having so much fun playing with them!

 THE COUSINS: Christina, Ingrid, Theo, and Owen

 This a very ripe peach and Christina loved it!

Month Summary (8 months old):

She dropped her third nap towards the end of the month. She now naps twice a day and goes to bed at 5:30 or 6pm (so EARLY). Started sleeping through the night, FINALLY! All I had to do was stop feeding her....man if only I had known. She eats solids three times a day, plus a few snacks, and nurses four times a day. Crawling changed from army style to hands and knees. She can now get to a sitting position from her stomach.

Likes: playing with purses and bags, pulling on hair, raspberries on her stomach, crawling, and anything new.

Dislikes: when play time ends and staying still for diaper changes

Love you my sweet little girl!!

Vacation Part III

VACATION #3: Cutler Family + Extended Family + Friends of Bride and Groom

        Calvin and Lindsey's Wedding

Aka my brother and his beautiful fiance Lindsey. Location: somewhere in the Shasta National Forest... pretty much in the middle of nowhere. You enter the state park and just keep climbing up and up the road, on the mountain side, with everything looking the same and you think you must be lost and then all of a sudden you see an American flag and you realize you have made it to your destination.

I really don't know the name of the location only that a nice older couple live up there in the summer and rent out the place to people for weddings, family reunions, you name it. The site has cabins (or sort of little houses), large gathering space for eating/hanging out, a catering kitchen (some of the cabins had little kitchens also), a community fire pit, 3 or more outdoor showers, lots of space for tent camping, 3 or more outhouses (or rather outhouse like structures with running water and flushing toilets), and a little play area with ping pong, bean bag toss, and little kid things.
(Anyone catch the reference to Zoolander?)

The place was AWESOME! Not to mention the beautiful scenery!! It was a fairytale location!

The family of the bride and groom got to stay in the cabins while friends and extended family stayed in tents on the grounds. We probably had one of the best rooms all to ourselves since Christina naps so often and sometimes would still wake up at night. Top right is a picture of our cabin and our room was right on the other side of that door.

Chillin' with the Gillen's

Cool owl chime outside our room

The place was decorated simply but beautifully--not detracting from the majestic scenery. The picture on the right is a tree that was carved into a tree. haha. There were a few of these around all carved differently--one had stairs wrapping around the trunk leading up to a little house on top.

Babies being babies--LOVE THEM!

Christina loves shoes! She must be a girl. She likes to chew on her shoes--who knew. Picture on the right is me with my two siblings Chelsey and Calvin.

This is the meadow where they got hitched. Simply beautiful!!!

Picture of the grandparents minus a few.

Calvin and his ring bearer Rugar. Calvin got Rugar when he was just a pup and Rugar has gone everywhere with Calvin ever since. Sad to say that Rugar will not live much longer since he has a terminal case of bone cancer. We have loved him like a friend and we will be sad to see him go.

The wedding party waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle.

Fun Fact: the entire wedding party including bride and groom where barefoot!

Such a happy couple! And what a beautiful ceremony!

Chris decided she wanted to hear the wedding speeches after sleeping for an hour. So here she is with her pj's and handmade hat from cousin Trisha. She went to bed not long after and stayed asleep through all the late night celebrations. Part of why this wedding was so awesome was because everything happened right there! No need to travel to a different venue for dinner or pictures or anything. This was extra nice for me being a new mom--I didn't need a babysitter and I didn't need to keep her awake through her naps. All I had to do was put her down in our little room and carry around the baby monitor while I played and partied. It was GREAT!!!!

Calvin and Lindsey tied the knot on August 25, 2012

Congratulations Cutlers!

We couldn't be happier! Love you both so much!

Thanks for a wonderful time!

That was the end of our fabulous three vacations in a little over two weeks. The ride home was uneventful-thankfully.