A few new favorites!

Just thought I'd share a few new favorites around here!

Bare Escentuals i.d. Lash Builder
Funny story. Jen and I were on the hunt for "LiLash" or a similar product, so when we saw a beauty supply store that had a big sale whilst out for lunch, we ran inside! The worker at the store claimed that this was exactly like "LiLash", and it was only $15. (LiLash runs about $129 a bottle). Since we had no reason to at least not TRY it, we both bought a bottle. Turns out it's not at all like LiLash, BUT...it has become my all time favorite makeup product!

No more itchy flaky eyes, no more running or flaky mascara!!! Using this product under my regular mascara (Lash Blast Orange bottle) has helped me have longer, thicker, and generally happier eyelashes!


Top 100 Baby Purees
My neighbor and great friend Rachel loaned me her copy of this, and I pretty much stole it for a few weeks so I could keep making all the delicious recipes! The first 3/4 of the book would have been awesome for the "puree" stage of Ryan's life, but the last 1/4 is exactly what we need right now, and I'm in love. Several of her recipes are on her site (which requires a free membership sign-up to read recipes), and she has many more in the book that are just great!

One of the reasons why I love these so much is because they are easy to freeze in the baby cubes and simply warm up for Ryan's lunch or dinner, giving him a bigger variety than if we had to "use up" whatever dish we had for days on end. Today for lunch I pulled down all of our frozen baggies of meals and let him pick his lunch, and he was SO excited about it, and ate every last star-shaped pasta meal. And because I know you're dying to know, here's Ryan's current favorite meal.



The Denman Brush

If I had wads of cash lying around, I'd probably scramble for a Mason Pearson, but since that's not the case, this is my new favorite brush! Seth got it for me for my birthday, and I'm loving it. I haven't ever really been a "bristle" brush fan, but this one sold me. The nylon quills still give a great scalp massage, and the bristles help smooth the rest of the hair. It's the best of both worlds, really!

Na-Nih!

...it's the small moments, right? Three of those moments....


--This is Ryan's hair after his naps. I love it.



--Tonight I was talking to my Mama on the phone while Ryan was playing after dinner. While I was talking, he went in his room, dug into his pajama drawer and found his favorite blue, green, and teal striped PJs, brought them to me, trying to get them on, and saying "Na-Nih" and signing "Please". I pulled him up on my lap and he tried to snuggle in and get ready for our bedtime routine! I looked at the clock, and sure enough, it was 6:30 PM, time for his bedtime routine to begin! We're currently going between "Big Boy Beds" and "Cribs" so bedtime has been an adjustment lately, but I'm glad he loves his going to bed routine.

--This video:


The day before my birthday, Ryan started saying "Ba-Ba" for Mama. He'd done it a few times before, but was consistent at it all day, and then on my birthday he started saying "Ma-Mum". It melts my heart every time he says it, and it makes me cry just typing it.

Twenty-Great and Celebrate!

I woke up to these lovelies!



...and then off we went! What a better way to celebrate my birthday than at Disneyland!! Seth took the day off and we went down as a family to happy happy happy land!


Ryan sported his adorable sunglasses longer than we imagined he would!


I believe Futureland only fueled Ryan's new obsession with all things Toy Story. He seriously couldn't get enough of the Buzz Lightyear ride--every time we'd step off, he'd sign "More" and "Please", and then he'd squeal with delight when we'd go around again!


He wouldn't let go of mister alien's antenna.


We were so lucky to go on the day we did. The longest we ever waited for a ride was 15 minutes, and that was for Peter Pan. We also used Switch Passes for nearly every adult ride, so while we didn't ride together, we got to bypass a lot of lines and still experience it all! We also got the added bonus of SHORT character lines :)


Ryan wasn't thrilled at Goofy, probably because Goofy had wandering hands when he was around me (seriously! Goofy needs a timeout...or better eye-holes to see out of).


Ryan sat on every chair in Mickey's house, and loved all the fun Mickey toys! He must take after Grandpa Price!

Mostly I'm not sure why i poked my bum out for this picture, but it was funny so I put it in.


Oh, there were so many pianos around Disneyland! Ryan was in heaven!

Mickey in Fantasia Robes (Seriously, if this is the chance we get to see Mickey, can't we pick a better costume? I prefer the yellow button pants.)


Goofy's Piano!


While we were in Goofy's play-yard, the Disney Photographers started snapping pictures of Ryan, and then they pulled me aside to sign a release so they could use his picture on some Disney 3-D show that airs twice a night. They pretty much said everything they could to flatter us about how adorable Ryan was, and we're suckers for a good compliment, as well as free professional photos. Then we saw the pictures and I'm pretty sure they need a new Disneyland Photographer! (This is our picture, and I'm considering sending it to them to use instead :) )


I LOVED the honeypot ride. It was adorable, I couldn't stop smiling!


Ryan kind of took to Eeyore after a minute. I like that donkey.


(Watch this one, it's so silly) We bounced with Tigger.


And I played princess in the castle! (This is one of the few things I remember from last time I was at Disneyland...when I was 5. I remember the walls being shimmery. It was so happy to see again!


Ryan also took at stab at being a princess. I got in trouble for that one.


He was just so happy!


Best Picture of the day. Seth is awesome.

I couldn't have asked for a better Disney day. We went on Pirates right when Ryan was hitting naptime, and he fell asleep within 2 seconds of getting on the ride. When we got to the end, no one was in line so they sent us through again! Lucky us--and bonus naptime!

We stayed until the park closed, and went around and around on the Buzz Lightyear cars until they shut it off. We ended the day with a pleasant drive back home and a restful sleep! A special thanks to Seth for making my birthday Magical for both me and Toddler Ryan!

It changed my life.

Coppola.
Doesn't that sound a whole lot less risque than "Brazillian Blowout"?

While in consultation with my hair designer, it was decided that I needed a smoothing treatment for my hair. And since I had some Christmas/Birthday gift money, we decided now was a great time to try out the Coppola Treatment, similar to, but more natural than, the Brazillian Blowout, with nearly similar results.

I decided to be honest with myself and take some before and after pictures. Besides being horrified at how I look sans makeup in photos, it has been enlightening!

So, here I am before the hair treatment:*


Leave-In conditioner, scrunchified, air dried very carefully.


The back.

After Curling pieces with a flat-iron, and spraying lots of random stuff on to keep the frizz at a minimum:




After about 5 hours, this flattened, went limp, then went frizzball and ended up in a ponytail.


Honestly, not too bad. This was a GOOD day, though, with ideal circumstances.

And this is another BEFORE:


Hair washed, then painstakingly blow dried with a flat brush and a hairdryer for probably 25 minutes...


And the back.

And after flat-ironing every single piece of hair:





So....here is the AFTER, before I could wash my hair (I had to be very very careful for 3+days, making sure not to get ANY of it wet, including not sweating, getting water near my hair when face-washing, baby splashing in the tub, baby throwing food during dinner, etc... and not to bend my hair at all, including sleeping very carefully, not wearing glasses, not tucking my hair behind my ears, not letting baby with sticky fingers grab my hair, etc...) and while it was still stick stick straight without a lick of volume.

Literally, I woke up, got out of bed, and snapped this picture. I'm still having nightmares at my puffy face.



And again, not doing anything to it save a touch of hairspray, but with makeup and normal clothes on:



...and then came the true test. After a few painful days trying to keep every hair in place, I washed it, and then did a nice air dry with a touch up blow dry --total time 4 minutes of blowdrying, just regular-like.



And literally, 5 strokes of the flat iron to tame the ends:




and the back...

All in all, I've cut my getting-ready time down to about 10 minutes total, with a completely frizz-free head. And today, I forgot my straightener and was away from the house, so I just took a little extra care in blowdrying, and didn't need it at all! Coming from a once very frizzball and fro-like head straightener-addict, it has been life-changing!!!

Every wash my hair just seems to get a little happier. I love being able to blow-dry without having to stop and de-tangle the mass of frizz that inevitibly arises. And I love at the end of the day still having smooth, managable hair that feels silky smooth and frizz-free! Ohhh, it's just been a little dream come true.

Um, that was a very embarrassing post to write and publish. Um...Thanks for listening!!!

*I promise I'm not trying to turn my blog into outfit posts. I'm SO not cut out for that, as you can see!

Starting the year off...

With Jazz Hands! (Everybody loves a good Jazz square!)

Well, folks, we did it! 1/2 Marathon off the bucket list, check!

At the starting gate!


Ryan and Seth and Tom and Shelby picked the perfect location that we ran past a million (ok, 6) times, so they got to stay put and listen to the band and cheer us on every few miles.


Is there a cuter cheerleader? He's even got a pompom.


Proof that I ran. 1:57.44


And we were still smiling!

Ryan just liked his balloon:


Pointing at his shadow:


What a fun group!


I'm a little sad that I always forget to take pictures with Meieli! (Send me your pics of the race, friend!). Thanks to Meieli, we knew about this race to run!! Meieli (see Family re-RUN-ion post) is my inspiration for running, so when she told me that she was coming down to socal to run the race, I HAD to join in the fun! We had a fun post-race lunch at Subway chatting with her and James and their friends Heidi and Allen. What FUN couples--we wish we lived next door so we could hang out all the time!

Honestly, I didn't think I could do this race. 13+ miles? No thank you! And while I was running it, I also didn't think I could do it. OH man, Miles 10-12 were BRU-TAL. It was such an amazing emotional experience, though. I really felt like I went through a somewhat cathartic journey during the whole race--from thinking about all things Ryan, to my journey to find, meet, date, and marry Seth, our experience on both the west and east coast, my many "running" buddies, etc....etc... it was just great!

Whilst cleaning another room....

Look at that sly little grin...

Ryan wanted to help in the closet! Thanks for sorting my clothes, baby!

Picture a Christmas

What a joyous holiday season! I'm reminded over and over how blessed I am...and this December was no exception. We had such a fun, relaxing, enjoyable Christmas holiday with my parents at their home in Bountiful! It was a white christmas, which I loved, and it was an all around perfect time. Little Ryan got the Croup while we were there, so we weren't able to get out and visit friends the way we'd hoped to, but truthfully it helped me enjoy the "stillness" that time at home brings--and it was lovely.

Rewind to the start of our Christmas holiday:

Gina sent Ryan's Christmas package in this LARGE box, and the first thing I did was tape the flaps together and turn it upside down in anticipation of Ryan's very first Cardboard "Fort". Seth was TOTALLY game with me, so we cut out windows and a door. It's now Ryan's "Office" that he goes into when Dad goes to work and he's sad that Dad left. So, the cliche is true for this family--the kids always love the box!


Ryan met Santa:


And makes a pretty cute one himself:


Season's Greetings:


Ryan loves his Basketball from Dad and his Chair from G&G Johnson:


He also does a great Santa Dance:


And...Christmas Morning...Ta-Da!


Let me tell you a secret. Mama and Papa Price make the BEST Christmas mornings. They always have a surprise or two up their sleeves. And it's just SO much fun. This year, they got "the grandkids" this AWESOME little car:


See the look on that kid's face? Priceless.


oops. Bye Rudolph.


Whaaaa? A Toothbrush?? For baby??? That SPINS???


SCORE!


Oh, this kid had so much fun!

Dad very thoughtfully read all the packaging and labels from the bazillion TJs chocolate items I gave him. I think he and Trader Joe were buddies by the end of the day ;)


We got mom a Snuggie for christmas! (Jealous much?) I'm not sure why I'm modeling it...Mom? Mom where are you???


I want to cry when I think of how generous my parents were for Christmas. They made it so special and perfect, down to the very detail.


This was my favorite present we gave Ryan. A wooden Sushi Set!




We gave him a lot of wood for Christmas.


The Smiths came up (down? I don't know directions in SLC) to see us on Christmas mid-morning! It was so fun to see what all the kids got, and to have Ryan see his cousins...he loves them!


Tru and Ryan are 2 weeks apart. They were so cute.

And Ryan Learned how to share (phew!):


THIS. is my FAVORITE video of the trip:


Ryan loved the Mickey Mouse beanbag:


And playing with Hannah:


We were lucky the day after Christmas to get together with the Utah-for-Christmas Johnsons, including the Webers and Udys! And no get-together is complete until we've played games (this time, Mafia) and made the in-laws cry (just kidding, no one cried this time...).


Mom & Dad & Heather&Fam, we're not sure how we didn't get one single picture all together! If not in picture, you're in our memory forever, thank you so much for a lovely memorable and wonderful Christmas Holiday!

Oh, and BONUS, for New Year's, the Johnsons came out for the Rose Bowl Parade and we had the chance to see them!