The Backpack

Molly has this little backpack and she LOVES to wear it.

Molly and Dad cuddling after a little motorcycle ride.

Summertime!

I heard somewhere that summer is for kids. This statement has really helped me lighten up. Sometimes it just seems easier to not do something because I'm tired and it would be a lot of work. To put on swimsuits and sunscreen for 5 minutes in the pool seems like a waste of energy. Or to let Molly eat a popsicle and get it all over her outfit after I've just gotten her dressed. And as much as I want Molly to eat healthy things, that just doesn't end up happening all the time.

It is pretty impossible to keep any drink with a straw away from Molly. Luckily for the last little while we've been getting free drinks from sonic thanks to their survey receipts. They give them to us even when we get a free one. It's pretty nice.

Bowling with the help of daddy. It was cosmic bowling so it was dark with lights everywhere. She loved it.

Molly has an obsession with pushing around strollers. She found her umbrella stroller in the closet and wouldn't forget about it for a couple of days. Even if I put it back in the closet she would go right to it as soon as she woke up from her nap or when we got home from running errands. She will let us push her around sometimes, but it takes some convincing.

We have been swimming a few times this summer and Molly prefers sitting on the steps and splashing. The last time we went I was able to get her to release me from her death grip and she actually let me pull her around while she kicked her little legs. She has been so fun this summer and I can't believe how fast it is going.

18 months old!!!

Molly is officially 18 months old. She went to the doctor on Tuesday. She is in the 79th percentile in weight, the 88th percentile in height, and the 100th percentile in head size. They really need to make shirts that have bigger openings for the head. It gets to be a pretty tight squeeze sometimes. The pictures of Molly are on a playset that our super nice neighbors gave us.

Happy Father's Day!

This is Brady's first Father's day that he gets to spend with Molly. He was in China last year and he missed her so much. Molly is so lucky to have the dad she has. I know the bottom picture is kinda funny, but we didn't have any other real recent ones with just Molly and Dad. Happy Father's Day Brady! Thanks for all you do for us!

Haircut!

Molly had her second real haircut yesterday. I've done some trimming jobs, but that was hard enough the way Molly holds still. She hates getting her hair cut. This time was better, but still not pleasant. I would like to just let her hair grow out, but the bangs for sure had to be shorter. I do Molly's hair and it is pulled out minutes later. The lady that did her hair went a little shorter than I would have liked. Her bangs look like an older sister went at them with scissors. I'm sure I could have done that. Anyway...at least her hair won't be in her eyes. It is hard for me to get used to my own haircuts, and I'm finding it hard getting used to Molly's too.
She seems to look a little younger with her new do, so that is good at least.

before

before again

And after

Just some pictures

We are still working on patience.

Molly has become quite the girly girl. She definitely doesn't get that from her mom. She loves this little tutu and will make me put it on her any chance she gets.

Molly has been much happier this last month. She has had a rough time with teething. She has eight teeth and four molars. Hopefully the others won't hurt her so much. When she is happy it makes being a mom so much easier.

Bye!!!!

Molly has been saying some words for awhile, but this is our favorite. We're not quite sure why she makes her voice so high when she says 'bye,' but it definitely adds to the cuteness.

Yummy!

Molly takes after her mom's love of steak...

And her dad's love of pizza.

Easter

We had a really nice Easter this year. My Grandma had an Easter egg hunt for the older little kids. Molly wasn't really invited, but we invited ourselves anyway. I'm good at that. My Grandma and aunt Becky are so fun and did so much for the little kids. They each got an Easter basket full of lots of yummy treats. Molly even got her own special basket. Thanks Grandma and Becky! Molly wouldn't have had a basket if it weren't for you. Her parents are lame like that.

Molly was so cute going through her basket. She would pick everything out individually and look at it.

This is what Molly thinks of her aunt Paula most of the time.

This is when Molly realized that I was ten feet away from her. Poor Molly!

We got this chair for Molly. She loves it. She mostly likes carrying it around and pushing it, but every once in awhile she'll sit in it.

Molly wolly!

Molly loves books. She likes to bring them to us and plop in our laps so we can read them to her. My favorite is when I find her with a book. She has been saying 'ba' for ball, balloon, and other random things This book has balls in it and when she finds them she says, 'ba'. It's really cute.

Just some cute pictures of Molly with Daddy

Molly in jail. She likes to unfold all the laundry, so I have to immobilize her in order to get any laundry done. She thinks it's funny for a few minutes, but quickly realizes that it's not. She is actually really helpful at handing me the dirty laundry to put in the washer, but that's as far as it goes.

Molly and her new fashion statement. She loves wearing her clothes around her shoulders. She just grabs a random item and she's good to go.

St George!

We went to St. George over the weekend to get away from the snow. We love it there at this time of year. We did not get to stay long enough. We got to go with our friends and relax. I got sick so it was nice for Brady to have some good company. On a side note, I wish I could have edited more than just the red eye in this picture. Her face and hair are a mess, but hey, we were on vacation.

Molly preferred to walk and push her own stroller rather than ride in it. Maybe we shouldn't have forgotten her shoes. Oh well.

Then when that got old, she got to ride on daddy's shoulders.

Go Mariners!

Molly is getting ready early to support her Mariners. Her daddy's obsession has apparently rubbed off on her. Hopefully they'll be a little better this year so we can watch them win a few times. We don't ask for much.

5 Years!

Today is our 5 year anniversary. I love that we get to celebrate on the first day of spring. Everything feels so new. It is a great way to start a new year of marriage. In 5 years we have survived:

1 insane cat
Me finishing school
Brady finishing school
1 pregnancy
The cutest little girl ever
And much more.
Can't wait for 5 more!

Our little cutie

Molly loves to say prayers, well at least fold her arms. When we tell her it's time to say the prayer she folds her arms. It's so cute. She may look reverent, but that is before we pray. During the prayer she laughs at us, especially when she hears her name, and runs all over her room.

Molly and all her stuffed animals. It is amazing how toys build up. We haven't had to buy her hardly any toys thanks to everyone's generosity.

Just missing the baby days

I guess turning 30 has made me realize how fast time goes by. I can't believe Molly was ever that little. I miss those days. Not enough to want to be pregnant again any time soon, but it does make me at least think about the idea. Molly was the best little baby ever. She mostly slept and I kept wondering when it was going to change. She started getting teeth at about 6 months and with that emerged her spunky little personality. I can't believe that 14 months have gone by and we have a little toddler tearing up the house. Crazy. I wouldn't trade it for anything. We love you Molly and all the excitement you have brought into our lives!

The big 3-0!

This birthday seriously crept up on me. I can't believe I'm 30. It seems like it should feel different, but of course it doesn't. I got to sleep in, which Brady let me do, not Molly. My mom took me to lunch, somewhere besides taco bell. That is a sacrifice for her. Brady surprised me with tickets to Rascal Flatts. We had gone last year and loved it , but had bad seats. We talked about going this year, but the tickets were pricey and I of course don't like to spend money or tell someone to spend money on me. So I figured we wouldn't be going. A radio station was near our house the day before and I had walked over with Molly to try to win tickets. I figured since it was my birthday that luck would be on my side, but no. Some crazy lady won them. It was a great surprise! He had gotten the tickets for a great deal and we had perfect seats. He arranged babysitting and everything. We went to Winger's for dinner and he even got me cheesecake. Brady is so good at getting me things I want. I really have never gotten a gift from him that I didnt' love. I know it sounds cheesy, but he really listens to me and remembers everything. I had the best 30th birthday and I'm so grateful for all the birthday wishes. I'm so lucky to have great people in my life.

Happy Birthday Marsha!!!

Today is Marsha's birthday (in case you weren't able to figure that out from the title of the post). I have absolutely loved being married to Marsha. She makes married life so easy. And she is a super great mom to Molly (as you can see in the picture). She's always there for me and makes my life easier. I won't say how old she is, but I will say that I'm glad I married a mature, older woman. Happy birthday Marsha! I love you!

The Mollster

When Molly was younger she didn't like to wear sunglasses. Now she brings them to us and makes us put them on her. She's obviously preparing to be someone famous.

Molly is a big fan of our cell phones. It can be hard to talk on the phone when she's around because she wants to grab it. She likes it when Daddy calls home from work and talks to her. On a related note, she thinks that a lot of things are phones even though they're not. She'll hold the remote control up to her ear like a phone. As a bonus, included in this picture is our awesome love seat in the background. We're pretty fancy, so our love seat has duct tape accents. Only the finest furnishings are in the Larson home.

Molly is a multi-tasker. Why use a hand to hold a cup when teeth work just fine?

The Girls

We went to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate Hallie's birthday and Paula had the bright idea of having all us girls squeeze into this sketch booth thingy. It wasn't easy. It is meant for two people, but we thought we'd try it with five. We got a good laugh out of it at least. It is so much fun being together. Just a little something I admire in each of them.

Paula is always making everyone laugh and makes sure everyone feels included.
Leah has the best laugh and will let you know when she thinks something is funny.
Brooke Ann is the calmest person I know. I am jealous of her never ending patience.
Lora isn't afraid of anything. She doesn't let anything stop her from doing new things.

Stubborn Molly!

Molly does not do anything she doesn't want to do. When we want her to show off her skills she refuses to perform. Although at times it can be annoying, I really love that about her. She is strong willed and there is nothing we can do about that. Hopefully, as her parents, we can teach her to make right choices and she will be a leader to her friends for the good. Molly has been taking steps for awhile now, but of course when we try to get her to walk, she throws her head back and holds her legs up. It is so fun seeing her walk. She holds her arms straight up in the air and looks so stinkin' cute, but unfortunately you can only see this when she wants to do it.

Molly in the kitchen

Molly loves to push chairs everywhere.

We cleaned out this cupboard and Molly seemed to think it was a new hiding place just for her.

She's really less helpful than she may look, but it makes putting the dishes away much more fun than it used to be.