The other day, we got a package in the mail from Than and Nicole. When I saw the return address, I knew what was in the package and I got so excited. I called Amelie over and we both made noises of delight as we unwrapped each package.

My Polly Pockets!

This collection of tiny Polly Pockets was one of my favorite toys when I was a little girl. When I outgrew them, we passed them on to my niece Claire. Now that Amelie is old enough, Claire and Nicole sent them our way. I think it’s amazing how well they’ve been taken care of all these years!

The collection.

There are tons of tiny figurines, cottages, houses, a toy store, a preschool, even a bridal shop! Each little house or structure opens up to reveal rooms and tiny furniture and vignettes. When you close them back up, they are sweet little houses. Unwrapping these brought back so many memories. Honestly, I teared up a little. I can still remember how I felt playing with these when I was little and now Amelie gets to enjoy them, too.

So much fun!

This collection is now Amelie’s favorite thing to play with. She arranges them into neighborhoods and sets up the little dolls. Thank you, Claire and Nicole, for taking such good care of these!

Today, Liam turns 9 months old. Last night, I sat chatting with Angela about his birth and NICU time–it was still so fresh and hard to talk about. I am so thankful that my sweet Liam made it through that rough time and so glad for his sweet addition to our family. He is just a lovely baby. The way his whole face brightens up when he sees me, the way he kicks his legs when he’s excited, the way he stares into my eyes when he’s taking a bottle. I love it all.

At 9 months, Liam can sit up by himself, eat yummy solid foods, and melt your heart. Oh, and drool. A lot.

So busy.

Well, hello, little man!

Yes, you! (Notice the aforementioned drool.)

So happy.

We love you, sweet Liam!

Well, we’ve now lived in our home for a bit and all I can say is, we love it! It’s a great home for us in size, layout, and location. I’ve had people asking for pictures, so I thought I’d go room by room over the next little bit to show you how things turned out.

Today’s room: the master bathroom. We definitely spoiled ourselves with this room. It’s bright, open, and inviting–definitely an upgrade from what we’ve had up until now. Sorry about the quality of the pictures. The windows in this room make it tricky for an amateur like myself to get a great shot.

Our vanity. Undermounted sinks are amazing! Super easy to clean and we like the sleek look. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but the counter tops are white with little flecks of sparkle in them. We picked out the funky lighting fixture and weren’t sure how much we would like it. Once it was installed, any worries were replaced by how much we enjoy the piece and the unique shadows it casts.

Here’s a better picture of the light. It has wire boxes around each bulb.

The shower stall. Love this! So much easier to keep clean then a combined shower/bath tub.

The tub. Bryce wanted a corner tub like this from the very beginning. Our floorplan doesn’t normally call for one, but we added some square footage along the back of the house and that allowed for this kind of tub. It’s great for soaking and relaxing.

So, there you have it. One room down!

Wow, there is so much I want to write about. So much that it’s pretty overwhelming. I’m going to procrastinate telling you guys about the new house and the new schools and the new ward and just share this cute family portrait Amelie concocted on one of the fun apps on our iPad.

Bryce is Oreo head, I’m the one with the grape hair holding little Twizzler legs Liam, Calder has the watermelon head, Amelie has the train track locks, and Easton has harmonica legs. Isn’t that fun? It’s like playing I Spy. Can you spy the violin bows and the spinning top? I think this might be one of my very favorite family portraits. Maybe we’ll have it printed to hang in our house!