Where has the time gone?

These past few weeks have been so incredibly busy at our house! Of course 99% of it all was self inflicted...so what have we been doing? Since I got back from Utah, we have been working on opening up a location for my bakery, Elegance by Emily. We scouted out locations, meet with vendors, wrote an extensive business plan including all the numbers you need..let me clarify...I didn't do any of the number because Math and I don't get along (even worse than spelling and I get along)...Jason did them all! Thanks hon! I had a photo shoot and am working on creating a new website...we drew blueprints, scouted out equiptment, and designed the interior. Needless to say...we have been working on it full time for several weeks with lots and lots of late nights...more so Jason and I (I don't do so well without sleep). We had an appointment set up with the bank to go today and apply for a business loan. However, last night, in trying to wrap everything up we needed for the bank...all the paperwork came to about 75-100 pages!...we came to the realization that in the end...now was not the best time to start this up on such a big scale. We had lots of reasons for it but in the end it came down to the fact that we just didn't feel 100% good about it and to take on such a huge operation we needed to feel that. We would be married to it and decided that our kids need us more right now. So in the end, we cancelled the meeting with the bank this morning and have begun working on a smaller scale plan to just expand the bakery out of our house. Jason will keep looking for jobs with companies and we will keep having faith that things will work out for the best.

Besides all that...we have keep busy with the kids! They have both grown-up so much in the past few weeks. London looks so big to me now and Brayden looks more and more like a little boy and not a toddler. London started nursery which is awesome but not so awesome that for some reason now Brayden is not doing well with nursery. He has never had a problem before. Luckily our ward has two nurseries and so we are going to try having them in separate ones to see how it goes. I have no idea why Brayden all of a sudden decided he doesn't like it anymore but hopefully we get it fixed so we can enjoy church once more.

Brayden is 110% pure boy! He loves animals and dogs! My in-laws recently got a dog, named Max, and Brayden loves the thing. Despite all of this, I still have not cracked and we will not have animals. I have enough to clean up after and spend money on! Brayden loves his sand-box that we made in the backyard. I love it to for the fact that it occupies him so well..the best out of anything probably...but I hate it for the fact that it always comes inside and there is always sand on the floor no matter how hard I clean!!! I told him, he better know how much I love him to put up with all the constant cleaning of sand in my house. Brayden has been doing speech therapy and I think it finally may be helping. He is starting to put two words togeather which is something we have worked really hard at. He had another sleep study done and still has sleep apnea but we don't have many options left to fix it so we will have to keep waiting till he gets bigger to do more about it.

Some funny things that Brayden has said or done recently:
-we have had a little frog living in our wagon in the backyard. Brayden thinks its the greatest thing! He always goes outside and opens the seats and plays with it. I don't know why it likes to live in our wagon...about 2 weeks ago, Brayden is outside screaming while I am doing other things. I go to see what the problem is and find that he has brought the frog in the house...only to then decide he is scared of it and I end up having to catch the thing. I really don't like animals! A few days after that, we think Jason scared it off with the lawnmower and now it is gone. Brayden still looks for it everyday and walks around the yard calling for it..."frog", "frog"...almost cute enough that I considered going to the pet store to get another one to live in the wagon..but I don't want to have to catch it again. so nope...
-I am learning that toddlers really mimic what you say...I was in the kitchen the other day...Brayden is standing on his step stool next to me. I spilled something and said, "oh freak". Immediately Brayden says "oh f-w-e-e-k"." It sounded more like a not so good other f-word". Realizing that my toddler now copies what I say, I then said, in response to that thought, "oh crap." of course Brayden goes "oh crap." Alright...note to self..you have children around that repeat what you say.

London is also doing great! The kid tries so hard to keep up with Brayden and is a little mover and shaker. She has begun standing up for herself which is good but means a lot more fighting between Brayden and her. She is still adorable and I have a lot of fun dressing her up and doing her hair. She doesn't like me doing her hair so much and always pulls it out...but oh well...that does not stop me from doing it. Her bow collection has grown a ton and Jason doesn't understand why I make her more when she just pulls them out...because she looks so cute! Just wait till her hair gets longer and I can do braids and curl it and oh my!!! London also is not fond of Max or animals...another reason not to get one!She has begun saying more words and now everything is "uh-oh". So pretty much between the two kids everything, all day long, is "uh-oh"

Sorry for the longest post ever but now you are caught up on our family!

Trip to Utah

In the middle of September, London and I took a trip out to Utah. I needed a change and so I used part of my "cruise fund" and bought a ticket and went. (I have been saving for about a year for Jason and I to go on a cruise when he graduates) London was amazing on the plane ride out. I was so nervous about it, I slept about 2 hours the night before. (No one likes a crying or screaming child on a plane and your stress level as a parent while trying to calm them down is at max panic level). We had such a packed trip but it was so fun. We were able to see so many friends and lots of family. On Friday night, we had a Hershey friends reunion which was really fun! Of all nights, London decided to start really walking on her own. She just took off. off course she kept trying to crawl or walk into the hot BBQ but there was no injuries so it was ok in the end. We had a fun visit with my old roommate Courtney and her cute little boys, had a fun shopping trip to the outlets with Tia and lots more! Thanks to everyone for letting us come visit! We had a great time! Note: the plane ride home was not as great...i learned my lesson had took the red eye home which had a four hour layover in Denver. London would not go to sleep! I think we walked about 10 miles around that airport. By the time we got home, the kid was black and filthy from crawling and walking around the great airport floors. We won't be taking that route home again if we can avoid it...but oh well...you gotta do what you gotta do!

Madison's headstone

Happily, Madison's headstone came in and was installed. It came in about 2 weeks early. Of course the Lord blessed us once again...The day the cemetery called to tell me it had come in and was installed, Jason, the kids, and I were out running errands. I was saying to Jason that I wished the headstone would come in. It is [was] so sad to go and see an empty space with a patch off dirt and struggling grass. Not five minutes later, the cemetery called and said the headstone had come in really fast and they had gotten it put in that day. Off course, Jason had scouts in an hour and it was rush hour traffic, but he knew I wouldn't be able to relax until I saw it so we decided to go up and see it anyway. We didn't have many options when we chose it because of cemetery guidelines but we are happy the way it turned out. Jason and I's compromise on it was that he could have the vase. It is a VERY southern thing to do and I was against it at first. But, now I can't imagine it without her flowers. Thanks to my mom who basically did the arrangement since I have no knowledge of flower arranging...sadly I picked out the wrong type of flowers for outside weather but I just wanted her to have "real pretty looking flowers". No worries...in a month I get to change it for Christmas!

Sessions Family pictures 2010

The last time Jason's family was able to get a complete family picture was 3 years ago at Jason and I's wedding. Since everyone came for Madison's funeral, we decided to go ahead and take some pictures. Amie did a great job as always! The Sessions Family

Our little family

Brayden can be sweet when he wants too...

Lolly loves her daddy!

We had a hard time getting the kids to cooperate but that is ok. Better than nothing and i think they are cute anyway.

Some of my favorite pictures...

These are some of my favorite pictures. I was looking at them the other night and it reminded me truly how small and precious Madison was. (She still is precious too) Looking at other pictures when they don't have a frame of reference skews your vision of her. Yes, her feet and hands were that small...small enough to fit her foot in my wedding ring and two of her hands. My ring is a size 61/2...not that big!

A sweet daddy moment!

I love this picture! It reminds me of how wonderful it was to get to hold her even if it was for only 10 minutes. I remember a few days after she was born, I was crying on Jason's shoulder in the NICU about not being able to hold my baby yet. He said, "Well think of it this way, if you did get to hold her right now that would mean she wasn't going to make it. So be glad you are not holding her."

So long for now summer...

Here are some fun pictures from this past 2010 summer. It was hot and really humid, my hair was one big frizz ball all the time, and a lot of it was spent in the hospital or on bed rest but we had fun and made good memories. So long for now summer... Jason and Brayden playing the Wii togeather...well Jason is playing and Brayden thinks he is playing..shhh don't tell him Lolly and Aunt Lizzie riding the ski trainer tube

Brayden loved this new toy that grandma bought. He thought it was so cool that he got to be a big boy and ski too

Gotta add driving the boat with grandpa to Brayden's top 10 favorite things to do

What a stylish cutie!

Funny Froggie...Cute Care Bear

My little cheer bear aka: care bear

The frog in his pond:aka grandma and grandpa's tub

What a cutie pie!

On Sunday, we went to dinner at my parents house. I brought along the kids Halloween costumes to show grandma how cute they looked. Brayden loves his frog costume and London is adorable in care bear costume...also fitting she is "cheer bear"! Brayden keep trying to do a frog jump and he thought he was funny and London thought he was hilarious. Gotta love thrift stores and cute Halloween costumes!

Video of London Walking

At Aunt AmyAnn's request here is a short video of London walking. She is getting better everyday! Yay!

She doesn't seem to mind dad's smelly work hats...she's about the only one...but she sure looks cute!

My Big Girl!

London is looking more and more like a toddler all the time to me. She is a funny little thing packed with personality. She is almost 1 1/2! Yay for nursery time! We still have to get London to walk. She stands up in the middle of the room, cruises, and will walk if you hold her hand but nothing on her own yet. I secretly think she can walk and just doesn't. She has also started climbing stairs and loves going up them but cant figure out how to come down yet....so she climbs up and then sits at the top and cries until you come get her. London is out little fishy. She absolutely loves the water. When we go boating or anywhere with water she just wants to be in it all the time. London is happy little thing and we are glad that she is part of our family.

She looks like such a big girl with her hair in pigtails!

Getaway

Shortly after the funeral was Emily's 25th birthday. She told me that she really wanted to do a getaway. (She's been telling me that for years, but I finally listened to her this time). We decided to go somewhere fun and new, so we decided to try Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (home of Dollywood). We weren't sure what to expect, but found a nice little hotel where we could relax and enjoy life. Grandma & Grandpa Rupp volunteered to watch the kids for the 2 nights we were gone, which I am very grateful for. We drove up Thursday night and enjoyed the sound of kid freedom all night. Friday we explored and found some great little shops. (They have a bunch of Christmas shops there open all year round, one even had a fancy hotel that we had to check out. It was a very nice place with Christmas themes and decorations up. If we ever make it back there, that's where we are staying.) We took advantage of our kid freedom and went and saw a movie, and then played some miniature golf. (I tried to let Emily win because I know how competitive she is, but she was too impatient for some of the obstacles, and from time to time I have to use some of my mad skills and remind her why she married me). On Saturday we got to have our favorite Golden Corral breakfast buffet with unlimited bacon, and then went for a little hike in the Smoky Mountains before coming back home. It was a great trip and I think she convinced me to do these getaways a little more often. A very Happy Birthday to my beautiful bride! What an amazing wife she is to me and wonderful mother she is to our children. I don't know how I got so lucky to have her as my eternal companion, but I'm very grateful I do. I don't know what I would do without her in my life. I love you Emily for all that you do and all that you are!

We tried to get a picture of the Pigeon Forge sign, while moving.

Showing off my mad putting and dressing skills.

The Christmas Story display at The Inn at Christmas Village.

I couldn't resist touching the lamp. It's a major award!

The hiking trail we took in the Smoky Mountains. Not too demanding, but definitely felt it afterwards.

I like to get out in nature.

The cute little waterfall at the end of the trail.

Sandbox Adventures

We decided that Brayden is getting big enough that he needs to have a way to burn off energy, be playing outdoors and be constructively destructive. So we figured the best way to accomplish all of that was to get him a sandbox. Since we are renting we didn't want anything permanent, so we went to the store and found a Little Tikes turtle sandbox. Luckily for frugal dad, there was a baby swimming pool on clearance right next to the turtles, and it was only $10 instead of $40, which meant we could get a few toys also. Gotta love summer clearance sales. We even got some extra sand since we're pretty sure it will somehow lose sand over time. We got it set up and use the regular swimming pool as a cover for it. Brayden got up from his nap and came out in the yard to see what Dad was doing. He picked up the upside down pool because he's curious like that and was super happy when he saw the sandbox and toys under it. He had so much fun that he got Jason to come play with him. Jason wanted satsified with only digging holes and building hills, so he added some water to make it more fun.

Brayden loved the idea of adding water to the mix and had to try it himself.


Of course by the end, Brayden was pretty much covered in sand, so he got bathed in the hose.

Madison's Funeral Service

We had an amazing memorial service for our little angel Madison. Emily & I could not have wished for anything better. We truly have felt the tender mercies of the Lord throughout this whole experience. Heavenly Father truly hears our prayers and knows how to comfort us. We are extremely grateful for all the love and support shown to us. We could not have made it through this without everyone else. We were very blessed to have all of the Rupps and Sessions come out and be with us for this special event. The talks, poems, and musical numbers performed at the memorial service were truly inspired and we felt the Spirit comfort our souls. A very special thank you to our friends, family, and great Bishop for your participation and loving support.

This is the special burial dress that Grandma Rupp made.

This is the special burial blanket that Grandma Sessions made.

Special flowers from family and friends.

Brayden & London seeing Madison for the first time.

Family gathered at the cemetery. We found the perfect

resting spot for our little angel in the Garden of Faith.
Very near to a friend of ours and some trees.

We decided we wanted to do a balloon launch in Madison's honor.

We let off 14 balloons, 1 for each day she lived.

All of her cousins got to participate, though there were some

who didn't want to let go of the balloon.

Emily and I saying our final goodbye.

We are so grateful for the exceptional service provided to us by the Byars Funeral Home and Sawnee View Cemetery for making this difficult process easier to handle and helping us create a special final memory tribute to our little angel.

We had a luncheon back at the church that was jointly put on by both Relief Societies. The food was incredible, and the love and support shown to us and our families was truly exemplary. Thank you so much Milton & Webb Bridge sisters.