a pink cake and party hats

3!

the morning after party, while i had a cupcake for breakfast.

olive had a birthday!

when i asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said, "a pink cake and party hats"
when i asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday she said "get a BIG pretzel ( a girl after my own heart) and go to the play place with lucy".
and so, that's what we did. when she's 16, i'd like to look back and remember how easily pleased she was at 3.


olive is such a fun and spirited kid. she's becoming a real, little, person and her ever growing vocabulary keeps us laughing.


her dark curly hair continues to grow (yay! i'm happy to report that the boy comments have slowed down drastically), her lips are naturally rosy and she has her mother's pasty complexion (you can't win them all). she towers over most kids her age and constantly scares surprises me at her coordination and abilities. (the kid can climb anything).

she loves to pick on harrison, and he adores her. she loves to dance, and sing and play her guitar, and she's 100% committed to curious george right now; there is no one else for her.

she's sweet and affectionate and fiery. oh how i love her. 

a tell tale sign that the birthday was a success. we spent most of the next day recreating it for timmy. hooray!

and SAVE a pretzel for the gas jets!

my sister was here!

she's so great. sooo great.

we talked and shopped and ate out a lot. we pinwheeled for baby #4 (a girl!) due in may.
we stayed up too late and made french fries at midnight like we always do.

she told olive about road runners and javelinas in arizona and olive hasn't stopped talking about "halloweenas" since. "they have pokey noses" she says, "and andrew saw two, TWO, so aunt alisa had to go outside to save him. i don't like halloweenas," over and over again.


we've added javelinas to olive's list of fears. 

so far:
storms
javelinas

its genetic, we all cry when we laugh.

we laughed REAL hard at this. and this. and these. and olive kept us laughing throughout the week with her constant mis-use of the word "itchy".

why can't we be neighbors?!
my sister is my favorite.

1!

little man turned one yesterday, so i put together a sappy photo montage to music. (as his mother, i kind of love it.)

if you hate these, move along. 

a couple comments/disclaimers about me, mostly:

1) there is a picture of me post labor that is pretty awful. but in my defense i had just conquered the hardest physical agony i'd ever experienced. (i said out loud: "i'm going to die" and meant it with my whole heart...if that gives you any idea.)

*thinking you've just decided to watch huh. you're so mean.

2) there aren't many flattering photos of me with my boy to make up for the first, so i've recommitted myself to documenting ME as the mother of my children. 2012 may just be the year of the hand held self portrait.

3) it's about 5 minutes, just so you know what you're committing to. and if you really love it, there is a 30 minute version complete with video that i'd be happy to show if you head on over. we still have leftover cake and ice cream.

enjoy, or don't.

*i don't know why it's so small...bah.

an instagram Christmas

because i'm feeling lazy, and it was app of the year after all.


our christmas party-ing started early with a weekend visit from aubry. she came to town for the mindy gledhill christmas benefit concert. somehow when i bought tickets i sort of missed the "benefit" part.
it was a sweet little concert, even with a silent auction going on in the back, and i still wonder if we mistakenly, maybe, occupied a sponsorship table...
BUT the free food was rad.

the evening aubry headed home, my brother kyle and his wife jeneca came into town. we spent most of the next week with them. i talked them into babysitting so i could get a much needed haircut, they threw my kids around while i played on facebook and napped, we talked and laughed and shopped, and ate too much. kidless married siblings make the best aunts and uncles!

a few days after kyle and jeneca came, my brother nate and his family came into town. we bowled of course, nate lost to tanner and had to do an interpretive dance without music in the bowling alley parking lot. 
there was a pinochle tournament and lots of cookie baking and decorating. 
olive and clara held hands constantly and giggled at each other for 3 straight days. we even had a sleep over at nana and papa's (more like a no-sleep over)so we could make our traditional midnight merritts run for scones (can you say classy). 

hello baby gracie, nice to meet you.

singing "sweet caroline" with the jukebox at merrits, a family tradition.

spencer's parents flew in on the 23rd. their traditional christmas eve dinner is always incredible, and the prep begin the minute they walked in the door. my dad and scott bonded over snowball express, while the meat cooked on the grill, and the meal on christmas eve was to-die-for. we did the winter light botanical gardens and played lots of "there's a bear in the garage"
it's like this: 
nana says "what's in the garage" 
girls: "A BEAR!"
nana: "how many?"
girls: "(insert number)"
nana: "shall we go see?"
girls: "YES!"
running to the door into the garage, opening it, screaming a lot and running back and laughing on the floor.
loads of fun i'm telling you, LOADS!

hanging in the fort with papa

santa clausing

testing out the new play kitchen set up on Christmas morning

santa delivered that guitar with strings, NOT buttons.

now that's a play-doh snake

spencer and harry potter visiting the reindeer

shoveling the walk with papa

tara and her two youngest girls kennedy and emmy flew in to join the party on the 27th. we shopped and played and made these cookies, they really were THAT good. 
we prayed for snow and got just enough for our much anticipated dinner sleigh ride in the mountains.

heading out for nana's glowstick treasure hunt

glowstick path from the party to the potty

life size self portraits

the only decent picture from our winter sleigh ride/cowboy dinner. kennedy you're so cute.

it was a very merry Christmas at the marshall home.
*this probably should have been at least 3 separate posts, but if you lasted until the end thank you, i'm guessing you're related to me.

ringin' it in.

i haven't forgotten about Christmas, or Christmas kick-off, or pre and post Christmas company and celebrations... i'll get to that, but this is too cute not to share.
happy new years eve.

35 for 35 woot woot!

love harrison's face in this picture!

happy birthday spencer!
35 reasons why i love you, in no particular order and with olive's input.
drum roll please...

1. you gave me olive
2. you gave me harrison
3. you take me to the temple
4. you make the BEST chicken tacos
5. pancake saturdays and how you always make olive's pancakes into mickeys or reindeer, or reindeer mickeys
6. your back rubs
7. your height=perfect for my hugs
8. your right brain and the genius that comes from it
9. your influence on exercise and healthy eating
10. you're always the first to say i'm sorry
11. the way olive looks at you and the hero you are in her eyes
12. the incredibly funny songs you make up on a whim
13. your sense of humor
14. your sexy hair
15. your honesty on my wardrobe choices 
16. your acceptance of others
17. "he makes tents in my bed" -olive
18. "he makes me super fast race cars, super fast" -olive
19. your desire and determination to be a good father
20. your appreciation of the outdoors
21. the time you invest in fostering extended family relationships
22. your love notes and
23. the sweetest little pen drawings that always accompany them
24. you tell me i'm pretty and that i keep getting prettier
25. you watch and like the same shows as me 'veronica mars', pushing daisies' 'new girl' (oh my gosh 'new girl', i die)
26. you support and i think genuinely enjoy my ever changing hair (between humidity and babies...)
27. you make me laugh
28. your sincere joy at other's successes
29. your ever growing commitment to the gospel
30. your commitment to me
31. your recognition of God's influence in our home and marriage
32. "BIG lego houses!" -olive
33. "cuz i love him for reasons mom" -olive
34. your forever young face 
35. because you're you and you're mine.

all these years later i still cant believe i married "pink shirt boy" i love YOU.
*a happy birthday rendition compliments of olive:

and so it begins.

happy december!