You've had a birthday, shout HOORAY!

I wanted to post this yesterday, but I literally was not in front of a computer all day. So it's a day late....but HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZ! We LOVE you!

And also happy birthday to my sister Charlotte and my niece Alena.  I don't have any pictures of them on my laptop.

Are you here all by yourself?

"Ma'am, I'm eight years old. You think I would be here *alone*? I don't think so."

Classic movie from my childhood; good times.  We stayed here for Christmas instead of going home.  Not quite the same, but it was still fun.  I have some really short videos of Christmas happenings and a few firsts that I haven't shown you all yet.  Berlin is getting so big!  

Look how cute she looks in her beret my aunt Rose made for her.  

She doesn't really like to wear things on her head, but she did wear it this day because it was freezing!

We had an awesome Santa at our ward party this year!  Berlin didn't even cry when he held her.  She was very interested in his beard, and wasn't sure why we were standing far away making silly faces.  

Here is Berlin opening her favorite present; a stuffed animal monkey from Grandma and Grandpa Jensen.  Her reaction was AWESOME!

 As you can see, she is quite fond of her monkey.  Good job David and GayLynn!

This video is Berlin and her Dad playing with her second favorite present-a soft book we gave her.  Super cute, because she giggles in this one.

Okay, Berlin has actually been crawling since Thanksgiving, but I have been kind of busy!

Along with crawling, she is having the time of her life exploring places she shouldn't.

She also has enough hair to do a tiny ponytail if she will let me put one in her hair.  It's kind of a necessity now, since her hair on top is really long compared the rest, and it sticks straight up in the air.  She was a sporting a faux hawk for awhile there and she was called a boy three times.

Berlin decided she wants more solid food I guess, because she went from two teeth to SIX right before Christmas, and now has two more coming in on the bottom.  Sorry about the angle on the picture; but do you know how hard it is to take a photo of a eight month old's teeth?  It's tricky.

Soon after she started crawling, Berlin realized she could pull herself up to a standing position.  She started on the soft furniture, then moved to the bar stools.  Now she will use just about anything to pull herself up, including the dogs and her parents.  She loves to stand at the door and look outside, especially if Josh is out there with the doggies. (You can see part of her faux hawk in this profile-the front is in the pony tail, but the back isn't quite long enough.)

This is my favorite!  Berlin received a couple of books for Christmas, and this is one of her favorites that she is allowed to play with.  She will sit on the floor and "read" it to herself.  Hilarious!

We are having a great time with her!

Pop quiz: Who have you met, and what have you learned?

OK. Bud, Fritz, and Joe are brothers. Fritz is married to Petunia, and is she...?
Cranky? Yes.
Tallulah and Laszlo are their children. Joe is married to Billie. Lefty is the butler. Spike and Dimitri are twins, and I don't know who they're related to.
Neither do we. Go on.
Lucille is married to Bud, and your dad, Cornelius, is their son. What does Cornelius look like?
Tom Selleck.
OK. Cornelius is married to Franny, and her brothers are Gaston and Art.
You're forgetting something.
Forgetting? Oh, right! Wilbur is the son of Franny and Cornelius.

She looks pretty excited about being part of the fam, don't you think?

Berlin was sealed to us on Friday, November 25th. 

And we couldn't be happier!

Can you tell? 

Thanks to all who were able to be there-it was a wonderful day.

And a BIG thanks to Sarah Rose for taking these photos; they are perfect.

Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker

Happy Halloween!

I'm six months old now....

And I can sit up....

and eat cereal.....

and giggle...

and giggle...

and giggle....

especially when I am outside...

and Dad is playing with the dogs.

I also blow really good spit bubbles...

I still only have two teeth...

but they sure are cute!

My thumb fits right into my binkie...

so I still suck my thumb sort of :)

Oh, and I almost forgot.  I am the cutest Duck!

God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die....

This quote stood out to me especially since I got my new calling.  Oh you haven't heard?  I am the new Relief Society President in my ward.  I know what you're thinking.  Yikes!!! right?  I am pretty sure there should be an age requirement for this calling, and I should always be below it because of my maturity level.  Oh well.  This quote is from Calvin and Hobbes, one of the best comic strips ever and my husband's personal favorite. The cartoon Calvin reminds me of Josh a lot actually. Because he is obviously really intelligent-but he likes to be immature, cause mischief, play rough and do things that adults don't normally do. Sound familiar to anyone who knows my husband? Anyway, my sister Charlotte had her baby eight days before Berlin was born, and she named him Calvin. He is a cute little BIG chunk. He's super mellow and always happy unless he's hungry. Here are the cousins together in June.  Auntie Audra is holding them-I cut her head off because I am a way good photographer.

Anyways. these photos below illustrate the personality differences between Calvin and Berlin.  Basically, Calvin is mellow and happy and Berlin has multiple personalities.  Okay, not really, but sometimes it seems that way.  Berlin will provide the captions.  But first, a little synopsis of the photo shoot. Calvin has just woken up from his nap.  I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of Berlin and Calvin side by side.  These pictures are all taken within about a minute, and Berlin's face is never the same.

Picture #1-My mom laid me in my play pen and there's someone else already in it!  WAH!

Picture # 2-Ooh, a fan!

Picture # 3- I like fans.

Picture # 4-My mom is making funny faces at me so I will make one back.  Do you think this new guy is a little freaked out by this?

Picture # 5-Hey new guy?  Do you see me?  I can see you if I look like this!

Picture # 6-Mom, I am trying to smile good, I promise!  You are just taking the picture at the wrong time.

Picture # 7-Hmm, I like this soft blanket the other kid has.

Picture # 8-There's my mom again trying to make silly faces so we will smile.  

Picture # 9-Mom!  Get me out of here!  I don't want to do this anymore!