We proudly introduce our new niece!!!

We couldn't be more excited to announce the arrival of our beautiful niece, Olivia Grace Falkenborg!

Olivia was born at 12:05am, January 18th...giving her Uncle Brian the best birthday gift of all, as they now share the same birthday! How cool is that!! It is killing us that we aren't there to see her in person (we will be there in a week, we can't wait!), but from the looks of her pictures, she is absolutely beautiful!! Olivia weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz, and has the most adorable chubby cheeks to prove it!! Good job Wes and Marie!!! This is Wes and Marie's first child, and we are just so incredibly happy for them, they are going to be the best parents!! Welcome to the world Olivia Grace, we sure love you and can't wait to meet you!!!

The proud parents a few weeks before the birth of this little beauty...

...our beautiful niece, Olivia Grace!

Just check out those incredible cheeks and lips!! So cute!!

Congratulations Wes and Marie!!!

We can't wait to watch Olivia grow...we are so happy for you!!!

Happy Birthday Brian!!

Today, my wonderful husband turned 32 years old!! (Really, are we getting that old already?!!!)

We had a great time celebrating Brian's birthday! His parents came over and hung out with us while Austin and Brooke were napping, then Brian and I got to go out for a birthday dinner together at one of Brian's favorite restaurants, while Jane and Tom babysat the kids!! (Thanks guys!!!) Once we got home, Austin helped decorate his daddy's cake (which he loved doing and did a fantastic job!) so we could all enjoy some yummy dessert together! It was great to spend the day with family and also to get some alone time with Bri, since he leaves for Japan in just 10 days!! Happy Birthday Bri, can't wait to celebrate the next year with you!

Austin and Grandma decorating Brian's cake!

Austin's masterpiece!!

And just for fun, here's Brian celebrating his last few birthdays...

The latest...#32!!

(This was the year Brian was on a super strict, no wheat, no dairy diet and couldn't have his chocolate cake! He got to celebrate with his vegan/lactose free butter alternative spread! YUM!)

*not so sure what happened to his 26th birthday pic, can't find it anywhere!*

Back when he was just a youngen'!

(and don't ask me why our Christmas tree was still up on Jan. 18th!!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRI!!

We love you so much and wish you an amazing year ahead!

Love, S, A, B & H :)

Austin being Austin...

Austin is at the most fun age right now...he's talking more, which means you never know what you are going to hear out of his mouth, he says the funniest things sometimes! (and also means we have to watch everything we say, he is quite the parrot!); he's got quite a sense of humor and can be just down right silly; he's so energetic and full of life, he is always exploring and keeping us on our toes, which we just love...and even in his bad moods, temper tantrums and awnry moments, he is just such a character, it's very hard not to smile at him and just laugh! Every day is such an adventure with you Austin, thank you!!

Who needs a fridge?! Austin is so creative!! Making use out of our metal lamp and sticking his magnetic letters/numbers on it!!

I know, I know, he is going to kill us one day for posting a potty picture!! But he just gets so darn proud when he actually goes on the potty, it's hard not to want to share the excitement!

I think we've seen these cheeks before!! Not the first time Austin has been caught doing something with his cheeks showing (here he is brushing his teeth, and pointing out that he needs a sticker on his teeth brushing chart!)!!

Always a ham, even when riding his trike!

Having fun at the park!

As good as he is, he has his moments...and time-out's are needed!! It's amazing he actually listens to us and keeps his nose to the wall the whole time out! The cutest thing though, is when he is able to come out of his time out, he always wants a hug, and says "sorry mom-mom, sorry," how cute is that?!

He loves, loves, loves to steal his sister's sippy cups! Such the thief!

What's being a kid without getting messy?!!! Austin loves to paint or play play-doh at his friends Lauren and Kaeyln's house, it's the first thing he runs to when over there!

Always being silly these days, it starts first thing in the morning at breakfast!

What did I tell ya?! Such a ham!! Laughing that mom-mom's boots were so big on him!! (Brooke thought so too!)

Ranger Ride with Papa...

This past weekend was my father-in-law's birthday! In honor of his big day, Brian and Austin took him out on a Ranger ride, and Austin couldn't have been more excited to have his Papa join in the fun!! They had a great excursion out in the desert, and Austin has literally woken up every morning and from every nap asking to go on another ranger ride with Papa, he sure had a blast!

The boys getting ready for Papa's Birthday Ranger Ride!

Austin all decked out on the ranger!

Hope you had a great birthday Tom, thank you for being such a great father-in-law and Papa!!

Boinnnggg....

Why is it that kids always flock to the things in the house that you don't have baby proofed?! When Austin was Brooke's age, he loved playing with the door stoppers...you know the ones that when touched spring back and forth and make a boingy noise! It didn't take us long to remove them from our house (even though it was hysterical watching him laugh over the boingy noise they made, he soon found out how to remove them from the wall and get them into his mouth!), but low and behold, we left one. And guess who found it?!!! Brooke (with a little help from Austin of course!) We found them playing with the lone doorstopper in our house, and just like her brother, Brooke got the biggest kick out of it too!

Austin pointing out to Brooke the best toy in the house!

I wish you could hear the laughs that were coming out of them in this picture as the door stopper was boinging away! The things they find SO entertaining!!

A & B...

We are so lucky Austin and Brooke get along so well, the are quite the brother/sister team! Sure, they have their moments (ie: Brooke stealing Austin's cars from him and Austin yelling at her, "No Booke, Mine!" and then proceeding to pick up all of his toys and moving them across the room in attempt to keep her away from them!), but for the most part, they have so much fun playing together, it's just the best watching these two ;)

Austin loves holding his little sis ;)

He also loves entertaining her...here he is pretending to be a walrus with my teaspoons and showing her how to crawl!

I can't tell if he is tackling her or hugging her, but either way it's cute ;)

I got you sis!

Hanging out together!

Getting into mischief together...one of the two got my shoe boxes out of the closet and they then proceeded to shred all of the paper all over the carpet..Brooke thought this was the best thing ever!

Sharing a hug

I just love these two ;)

New Year's Eve 2010!

We had such a great time ringing in 2010! The Putz's hosted their annual New Year's Eve party and it was a blast! Last year, there were a ton of us pregnant, so we weren't that lively of a bunch (I think we were all in bed by 12:15am!). This year we made up for it though and had so much fun, we definitely had a lot of laughs the next day...we all spent the night (which the kids loved!) and spent most of New Year's Day morning laughing so hard at the funny stories from the night before! Thank you JJ and Kelsey for hosting such a great party and for making 2010 start off so fabulous!

Our family on New Year's Eve!!

Brian clearly won the "who has the biggest bottle of wine" contest!

Kelsey, Emily and Me...all 3 of us were pregnant last year!! What a difference a year makes!

The boys!

Brian, Gabe, Matt, Graig and JJ

Getting ready to ring in the New Year!

Austin, Kaelyn and Lauren enjoying their New Year's Eve ice cream sundaes!

Me, Cari and Carly!

Me and Kelsey saying hello to 2010!

The whole gang celebrating!

Our 6th Anniversary!

Brian and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary today! It's amazing how fun and wonderful these 6 years have been together...and we have 1 dog, 2 kids, 8 different states and 1 foreign country we have temporarily called home to show for it! I am so blessed to have such an incredible husband and family, thank you Bri, I love you and Happy Anniversary!

Brian and I celebrating our 6th anniversary!

*Thank you Jane and Tom for watching the kids for us so we could go out to dinner with our friends to celebrate!! Austin and Brooke always love having their "Grandma Nana Poppa" babysit them!! You guys are the best!*

Thank you 2009!

As I look back on 2009, I am just so grateful. We got to experience so much over the past year, so much that we are very thankful for.

2009 welcomed Brooke to our family; our happy, healthy, beautiful little girl, who we couldn't imagine our life without. She is the perfect addition to our family, we just love her so much!

Austin turned 2 this year and it has been the most fun watching him grow and watching his personality, vocabulary, and imagination take off. He is growing up so much, and has taken to being a big brother exceptionally well, we are just so proud of him and love him so much!

We spent a great portion of 2009 overseas in Japan, and were so thankful for the wonderful season Brian and his team had, and for the great friends we met while over there. It was a fun and rewarding adventure, one we are looking forward to again in 2010!

Our dog Hunter turned 7 this year. It seems just like yesterday we brought him home as a little puppy! He too has taken to being the big brother so well, he loves Austin and Brooke and has just been the most fun loving, albeit crazy/barking/jumping on people/napkin stealing dog ever!

And we are just so thankful for all of our family and friends, who are always there supporting us and loving us, even from thousands of miles away via skype (what would we do without video phone through our computer?!!!) We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives and wish you all a very happy, a very healthy, a very adventurous, a very loving, and a very fabulous 201o!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Standing Up!

Brooke started pulling herself up into a standing position this week...every time we turn around, she is standing up, holding onto something new with the biggest smile on her face!! I have found her pulling up on the side table, the bed, the sofas, the ottoman, her favorite toy, the tub, you name it!!

Almost there...

Look at that defensive stance!

Landing isn't so graceful, but at least she does it with a smile...

...most of the time!! Sometimes she's not too happy when she falls down!

...but quick to recover!

Using those legs!

Easy does it!

YAY! I did it!

She even found out how to crawl to her toy bin, and reach into it to grab the toys she wants!!