Thanksgiving and life...

I have been horrible at updating the blog but here is an update finally. We spent Thanksgiving with Jason's family at his sister Jen's house which is about 45 minutes away from us. We all had a good time and the kids did pretty well. I have been busy with work and the company and Jason has been working on finishing up projects and has 2 finals for school this week. Next week, we head to Utah for my friend Tia's wedding and we are excited! Not so much for the flight with Brayden but once we get there... We are looking forward to Christmas with both of my sisters coming to Atlanta as well as Brooks. It should be lots of fun!

London update...

I know I saw this every month but I can't believe that London is almost 7 months old! Time is just flying by! London is now rolling and a happy little thing still. Her hair is growing back in finally! yay! We have started feeding London solid foods and some days are going better than others. She really likes how it tastes and eats it all up but she has a hard time digesting it due to her underdeveloped digestive tract. Over time it will get better. We are hoping that by Christmas she will be sitting up by herself. Some days I worry that she is behind for her age and in some ways she is but then I have to remember where she started and I am so proud of my little Lolly. The kid is growing like a weed and she is now in 9 month clothes! Not bad for a little 2 pounder...

my weekend project...

I had a wedding cake order today and this is the finished product.

New Job...Head Pastry Chef for Milton's Resturant...

If life wasn't crazy enough, I went and added some more madness to the mix. This week, I began my new job as the head pastry chef for a restaurant in our town called Milton's. I am really excited about the job and about the possibilities that it holds and the opportunities for growth both personally and professionally. It will be great on my resume as it is an upscale resturant with a great reputation.

I didn't actually seek out the job...we were at our town fair/festival and I had a booth for Elegance by Emily. We happened to be set up next to Milton's booth. They came and asked me to come interview for the position. So, last week, I went in and had a pretty intense interview process. I had to do a verbal interview one day, go in one day and make all of the restaurants desserts, and then another day go in and create a new dessert for the restaurant. I did a Red Velvet Cheesecake for them that went over pretty good....good enough I guess to get the job.

I work part time on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays for about 5 or 6 hours. We are still trying to work everything out schedule wise and with the kids but it will all work out.

I have to admit, it was pretty exciting going in and ordering brand new equipment and supplies and none of it was my money and having people listen to how I want the desserts done and the menus laid out.

Yes...I guess you could say we are one busy family between jobs, companies, kids, church callings, and school...but we are so grateful for all of our blessings. We have been so so blessed as a family!
-

On Safari with the Sessions...

This year for Halloween, Brayden was a lion and London was a giraffe. They were both cute and Brayden loved trick or treating. London slept through it all on Halloween and during the ward Trunk or Treat. We also put London in Brayden's pumpkin costume from last year. If it wasn't so cold, she would have worn that becasue i think it was cuter than the giraffe. Brayden was so excited about the candy he ate right the the wrappers/paper while trick or treating. We did enforce a parent tax on the candy and stashed it away after the night was over for Jason and I's eating pleasure.

new hair cut...

Yes...Here is the new hair cut...I decided that I needed a change so I went with the A-line cut. I really like it! Also...here are some pictures of Lolly Dolly London.

1 1/2 and 6 months old already?!!!

Can you believe that Brayden is already a year a half old? 1 1/2! Where has the time gone? And London is 6 months old!!! This week, I took both kids to the doctor for their check-ups.

Brayden is 26 lbs. and 32 1/2 inches tall. That means he is in the 25% percentile for weight and 50% for height.

London is 14 lbs. and 25 inches tall. She is in the 25%, on the normal growth chart!!!, for height and weight.

London is the same height that Brayden was when he was 6 months old.

I couldn't believe how big London is getting. The doctor showed us her growth chart graph and it is unreal how she started way off the graph and how she has just shoot up these past 6 months! We are so proud of our Lolly Dolly!

Brayden is in such a toddler and a boy! He constantly wants to go outside and play in the dirt and bark. He is sill obsessed with dogs. The other day, a Labrador was outside and so we took Brayden to go see the dog. The dog was jumping all over Brayden and licking him and Brayden was just giggling away. He thought it was so fun. Meanwhile, I am standing there thinking, "Is this my child?" We are encouraging words as Brayden screams to communicate...needless to say...there have been a lot of headaches lately.

London is still such an absolute sweetheart! She is working on sitting up on her own and loves to be part of the action. We have recently introduced the Johnny Jumper and she seems to really like it. Although, we do have to watch Brayden while she is in it because he wants help bounce her and that could be catastrophic. She is a little smiler and babbler and doing so well!

A trip to the park...

It was an absolute beautiful day today and so we decided to take the kids to the park. It was Brayden's first real trip since he could walk and run. London spent the trip asleep in her car seat. Brayden happened to be matching Jason today...Blue stripped Rugby shirt and matching BYU hats. They were so cute, I had to get a picture! Brayden thought it was pretty fun to run around everywhere but some of the slides he didn't think were so fun. Fall is in the air and I am looking forward to many more fun trips to the park!

some past due pictures, Elegance by Emily, and a quick update...

I know my blogging has been slacking lately but I have just been too busy with the kids, life, and getting my company, Elegance by Emily, up and going. Meanwhile...life goes on...

Here are some cute pictures and a quick update on things.

London is doing awesome! She is such a happy baby. She loves to smile and has begun to coo. She is now 12 pounds and 23 inches long. We are in size 6 month clothes!!! Sadly, she lost all of her beautiful hair...but it is slowly growing back in. She loves to be part of the action and sit up and look around and see what is going on. Oh and good news...she is sleeping through the night and has been for a couple weeks now. London is still on a massive growing kick...so much so that we have to put rice cereal and oatmeal in her bottles to satisfy her. Lolly Dolly is such a little sweetheart and we love her!!!

Brayden is still as funny as ever. He recently has wanted to do everything like dad. He will even wear a hat now for a bit to be like Dad.When Brayden has the cutest little toddler run and is constantly on the go. His new obsession is dogs. He is not scared of them in the least and is always on the look out for them. When he sees one he gets really excited, starts saying, "Dog, dog, dog!" and starts to run towards it. Good thing we have lots of people in our neighborhood who have them so he can get his fill of them since he isn't going to have one at home....not a real one at least!We love our bubby even when he has his toddler tantrums and all...oh and best news of all...He has started going to nursery!!! We sent him a couple of weeks early because we were all ready for it. Good thing he loves it. The last two weeks he has done great! He thinks church is so much better now and so do we!!!

Jason just finished up his first class in his MBA program. They last 6 weeks or 11 weeks each. This week he begins 2 new classes. He continues to work hard to provide for our family and we love him tons!

Elegance by Emily, my gourmet bakery and cupcakery is really beginning to take off. It has been a lot of work and sleepless nights but it is getting there. There is still a ton to do but somehow it will all get done. Jason has helped me out a ton doing office work for me and accounting stuff. Or office looks like a supply room with stacks of cupcakes and cake boxes and baking supplies all stashed in there. I got to go shopping at "The Restaurant Depot" on Friday. It is only open to businesses and is a restaurant supplier. It is like a mega glorified Costco! It makes me so happy to go there. I told Jason on the way home from it that it was better than clothes shopping. He said..."Well good at least this is something you can make money with." The freezer and Fridge is so big they give you coats to go into them with. It is so awesome!!! I am trying to learn how to juggle everything and make it all work right now. Some days are easier than others but it is all working out. We have had a great response from the community so far so hopefully it will keep getting better from here. I am still working on my website..I know...get it done already...but the address is....

www.elegancebyemilycakes.com ....although there is not much there. Just a bunch of generic stuff. My goal for this week is work on it. (We will see how much of that happens..it is always my goal but by the end of the day I am so tired and choosing between a few hours of sleep and that...well sleep wins most of the time..)

2 years ago...

This past week, Jason and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. I have to say that it feels like it should be married like 5 years with all the major life events we have crammed into these past 2 years. But what can I say...we must be on the "fast track for learning life's lessons" or something.... who knows. In the past two years, we may have moved to 3 different states, had 2 children, and countless other life changes but one thing remains...the fact that I love Jason! What does change is how much I love him. It seems that my love for him grows and grows each day (well most days...j/k) I think about how much I loved him on the day we got married compared to now and it seems as if there is no comparison. Jason is my ultimate best friend and my everything! He has such a kind heart and is one of the hardest working persons I know. He is a great husband, father, and person! Thank for all you do hon! I love you!

London's Baby Blessing...

Another awesome family picture...we will eventually get a good one...the kids might be 30 but we will get one...some day

Today, August 23, 2009, we gave London a name and a blessing. Jason's parents were in town, from Hawaii, and so we decided to go ahead to take the opportunity with both sets of Grandparents in the same place at the same time. London looked like an absolute doll in her dress. She wore the same dress that my sisters and I all wore to be blessed in. Jason gave a beautiful blessing which I was lucky enough to hear...thanks Jen for taking Brayden out. ( Brayden started screaming and we had to rush him out...heaven forbid his sister be the spotlight of the attention and not him) Brayden also looked so cute in his little suit and tie and vest! We had a luncheon at our house after and had a fun time visiting with everyone. Thanks to everyone who came and thanks sweetheart for being a worthy priesthood holder and being able to bless "our little miracle".

A rare spare moment...

Tonight, as I find myself with a rare spare moment, I decided I need to take the time to update the blog. I have decided it is my new form of scrapbooking/family history and I am going to have my blogs printed out and put in a book. One of these days...

I feel like my life is always going 90 miles an hour and maybe even 110 miles an hour now that we have moved into our new house. We moved in August 1st and thanks to the wonderful help of the Elders Quorm we did it in about 2 hours. Now the unpacking (my job) is another story...for the most part we are unpacked and set up but there are still a few boxes here and there...mostly things we are going to sell, get rid of, or i don't know where to put. We'll get there someday...

Aside from moving, unpacking, and making sure life keeps going on yes, I had a birthday on the 8th. Jason was in Athens all day at student orientation and so it was me and the kids. We stopped by my parents and said hi and then the next day, Sunday, my mom made me a terrific stake dinner complete with a birthday cake. Thanks mom! I have to say...I feel so much older than 24 years old....maybe it has something to do with having 2 kids and a husband that is almost 8 years older than i am. It doesn't really matter though...its only a number.

Beyond that...I can't believe that Brayden is 16 months old now (yes, I can't wait for in 2 months when he gets to go to nursery!!!)! What really gets me is that London is already 4 months old. It felt like time stood still while she was in the hospital and since she has been home it has flown by!!! I really had a baby 4 months ago? London continues to be a terrific little baby and is slowly getting out of her newborn stage. She has more awake periods of time and enjoys laying at her kick and play looking around, and batting at the colors and toys. She is about 10 pounds now and looks huge to me. She is really long, with a long torso (did not get that one from me!) and a skinny little thing. We go to the doctor next week so i can give a more updated report then. Thank goodness London is so easy because Brayden keeps me plenty busy! His current favorite thing is to read his books! He is obsessed with his books. Which is a good thing. I am all for promoting reading! Brayden is also doing better around London and will actually come snuggle next to me while i am holding her which he would not do at all before. Also big news that is keeping me busy is the fact that Brayden began climbing. I went to the bathroom and came out 2 seconds later to find Brayden scaling the bookcase. What was he going for? A picture of Jason and I.

Jason continues to keep on the go with construction work, school, and being an assistant scout master. How he does it all? I don't know but we sure love him and are grateful for him!

I also found out today than i can sell my cupcakes at the football games so i need to start getting that prepared and going because the first home game is in 2 weeks! oh lots to do!!!...

Yes, this is a real picture. He climbed up into his dumb truck and was reading his books.

My lolly dolly hanging out

Baby Smiles...

I love baby smiles! I took these last week and no it is not gas...London is beginning to smile! She is doing great and is about 9 pounds now. Yes, I know, compared to other 3 1/2 month old babies she is tiny but to me she is growing like crazy! We finally got out of newborn clothes, because she is so long, and into 3 month clothes (not that they fit width wise but they do length wise). We have begun to see some of London's talents really come out which include: lip smacking, stretching, sleeping, eating, and projectile spitting up. She is great at all of them especially the last one.

The grand hospital total, our new home, and congrats to all the new mom's and babies...

So, I think that we have received all of the medical statements/bills for London and I and we now have the grand total amount...drum roll...

$772,057.50!!!

I went and told Jason after I had figured it out and he said, "Well that isn't much different from the last total." I said, "It's $12,000+ more." Jason replies, "Oh that's nothing when you are already in the $700,000 dollar range. I thought you were going to tell me it was over a million dollars." I said, "No but that would have been kind of awesome though..."

Oh well...even though we didn't reach the million dollar mark that is more than ok! $ 772,057.50 is still pretty awesome in my book. And in regard to many comments from my last post on the amount, we have been very blessed and not even had to pay 10% of that amount because London qualified for some extra funding programs since she was a "micro preemie".

As for other news...

We found a place to live!!! It is a cute 3 bedroom/2.5 bath town house. It has a cute little backyard and has a kitchen that will work for me to do my cakes and baking...and it is in the ward boundaries and about a 5 minute drive from Grandpa and Grandma Rupp's house. We move in on July 30th! Although it has no garage, we have 2 designated parking spots in front of the house, and it is seriously lacking in visitor parking we...well, I, Emily am so happy to have found something.

I also wanted to say congrats to everyone who had their baby in the past couple of days. It seems that my friends went through a girl baby boom around London's arrival time and now they are going though a boy baby boom. Congrats to Courtney, my BYU sophmore year roommate, who had her 2nd little guy, Collin, on Saturday, congrats to Lauren, on of my BYU freshman year roommates, who had her 1st little one, Macsen, on Sunday, and congrats to Katie, my best friend growing up, who had her 1st little one, Marshall, this morning!!! And still yet to come...Stacia, Jerilyn, Shannon, and Claire.

sprinklers, finger painting, and wierd rashes...

Summer vacation does not really mean a whole lot to a parent who's child can't go to school yet but we have been trying to do some fun and different things anyway. I let Brayden play in the sprinkler for the first time about a week ago and he loved it. I know, I should have put a swim diaper or swimsuit on him but it was an impromptu thing. Then we had a finger painting experience at the Benson's house. We rolled out a huge piece of butcher paper in the garage, got crayola finger paints, stripped the kids down to their diapers and let them go crazy...well to some extent. I thought for sure that Brayden would be very into this because he likes to pulverize his food and finger paint with it and with liquid but when it is allowed...not so much. He was more interested in painting himself. And then he looked like a big blueberry because the blue paint he loved do much stained his skin. We had to do some serious scrubbing to get it off...so much for "washable paints" ...

Then on Sunday, Brayden got a weird rash that we thought was a couple different things. Our first suspicion was chicken pox but he has had the first part of the vaccine so who knows. We also thought it might be a case of measles since he got his MMR vaccine on Friday but no...we waited and saw what he looked like on Monday morning and decided he needed to go to the doctor. The rash had spread all over his body and the poor kid looked like leper but he was still a happy little thing. Dome of his spots were turning purple and they were all blotchy and huge....not like chicken pox at all. It turns out the rash was from a viral infection that he had gotten apparently a week or so ago. We gave him Benadryl and slathered on calamine lotion and 2 days later it was gone. Weird....