Planes are viral depositories...

Well... I think I'm finally feeling better after battling my "Plane Virus". It seems that everytime we come home from a trip on the plane, I get sick. And this time, it hit my GI system. Yup... I puked for the first time ever (a few times). I would be happy if that never happens to me again, and I'm sure Daddy feels the same way considering his shirt was on the receiving end of one of my "episodes". The good news is that I got to nibble on Cheerios all day, which is one of my favorite foods. AND I got to watch a lot of Baby Einstein, where usually I'm only allowed one show a day. Unfortunately now this bug seems to be working down in my lower intestinal system. 'Nuff said...

Yesterday Mommy got to take photos for a wedding of some friends from church. She wanted the experience and they were on a tight budget, so she was happy to help with the caveat that she's an amateur. I missed her but it sounds like it was a great learning experience. Watch her blog in the next couple of days for photos of the event!

Anyway, that's the latest from us. Hope you all have a happy and safe New Year. We're probably going to watch a movie and go to bed early tonight! Sounds relaxing to me!

Back from Portland...

Hey there everyone! We're back from Portland and we had a fabulous time. I really enjoyed seeing my cousin Hailey and wanted to hug and tickle her ALL the time. I think at times I may have annoyed her a little. Note in the photo below that Mommy and Aunt Christie dressed us in matching outfits. It's probably a good thing that we don't live super close to one another, because something tells me we'd be in matching outfits regularly.

Our trip had several highlights. One of my favorites nights was when Uncle Scott broke out some of his musical instruments. Hailey jammed on the guitar and I pounded away on the drums. Even Mommy picked up the guitar, which she hasn't done in years.

And of course Christmas Day was fabulous. Santa found me Portland, which I was gravely concerned about until Mommy informed me that she emailed him our forwarding location. Hailey and I got a load of presents, and I even helped Mommy and Daddy open theirs!

After we binged on presents, we all went for a walk. Both Hailey and I were pretty exhausted after all those presents and neither of us saw the end of that walk. But the cool thing is that shortly after we got back home, it started SNOWING! Isn't that festive?

Some other highlights of our trip included cuddling with Grandma and Grandpa, watching Daddy and Uncle Scott play Lego Starwars on the Nintendo Wii, chatting (meowing) with/at Hailey's cat, swimming in the hotel pool, and eating the birthday cake Aunt Christie made for Jesus! Can you have a more fun packed vacation? I don't think so! Mommy would probably say that the only thing that would have made the trip better was if I slept better at the hotel. Can she blame me? I was excited! Of course I would want to be up at 4:00 in the morning!

Merry CHRISTmas...

Well, our family boards the plane for Portland this afternoon and I just wanted to write a quick note to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Mommy and Daddy have been trying to explain Christmas to me and here's my synopsis. This is what Christmas is from the perspective of a one-year old:

We get presents... because it's the birthday of a very important person. His name is Jesus... and he's God. He loves me more than Mommy and Daddy and all my grandparents and aunts and uncles put together. He was born on Christmas in a barn. Can you believe God came here to hang out with us? And if I believe He came here and trust Him with my life, then He and I get to be buddies and hang out together FOREVER! Who could pass up hanging out with God? So Merry CHRISTmas!

These are a few of my favorite things...

As we draw near to Christmas, I have been reflecting on how much God has blessed me. He has created some pretty amazing things for me to enjoy. I have an amazing family, a place to sleep, great food. God must really like me. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of my more "random" favorites.

#1 - All things animals. I just love God's creativity with this one. There's just so many cool animals and I'm pretty much obsessed with them all. I now make around 15 different animals sounds (I know more animal sounds than actual words) and I like to cruise around the Christmas tree and kiss all the animals I see. Here I am kissing the bear ornament.

#2 - Pacifiers. I LOVE my pacifier. Some might say I'm addicted. Mommy and Daddy call it my "baby crack". I just call it soothing...

#3 - Dolls. Yup... I'm a total girly girl that loves her dolls. I love to talk to them and cuddle with them. They're my friends.

#4 - Flashlights. Have you seen one of these things? They're amazing! I am totally transfixed by this small object that throws light onto the walls and ceilings. God said "let there be light", and there was. I wonder if He used a flashlight?

Anyway, those are just a few of the random things that God has blessed me with and that I appreciate to the fullest. I hope you find time to enjoy the little things of life this Christmas!

Christmas came early...

Hey everyone... Well, as our family is preparing to fly to Portland this Friday, Mommy and Daddy have been contemplating which gifts we'll bring and which we'll leave behind. One particular gift from them to me was in a rather large box, so it definitely wasn't going to make it to Portland. So instead they gave it to me early! Whoo whoo! It is a complete canvas play structure including three tunnels, a tent, a house and a circular hide-away. We don't have enough room inside the house to put it all up, but Mommy and Daddy set-up a few of the pieces for me to play with. The rest can go in the yard when it warms up. The good thing is that because it's canvas, it packs away relatively small and doesn't take up much space. I love my new hide-away, and like to drag my toys and books into it and hang out in there.

Christmas parties and snow fun...

Hey there everyone! So much has happened that today is going to be a BIG post. On Thursday we celebrated Christmas with our "Thursday Night Family" (a.k.a. - our Bible Study Group). It was a blast. Mommy cooked her very first turkey and a meal with all the fixings! We'll be eating leftovers from the feast for a few more days. There was 18 of us in total and I had soooooo much fun that I didn't get to bed until 9:00!

And then today, I got to experience snow for the very first time! My Auntie DeAnna and Isabelle invited our family to join them on a trek up the mountain. Isabelle's grandparents also joined us from Reno. We had a blast! I was quite intrigued by the whole "snow thing". It was cold and wet and slippery. But when Daddy broke out the plastic sled and started hauling me around, I was decided that being a little cold and wet was worth the adventure!

But I have to say that my favorite part was the fact that I could eat the snow. It felt great on my sore gums! And, after all our fun in the snow, we went out for lunch together. To be honest with you, the drive was almost as much fun as our time in the snow because Isabelle has a DVD player in their van!!! Although on the way home, neither Isabelle nor I couldn't keep our eyes pryed open for long. Thanks Isabelle and Auntie Dee Dee for the awesome day!

Mommy's much better...

Hey there everyone! Well, I'm happy to report that Mommy is doing much better now. Her first round of antibiotics didn't kill everything so today her doctor put her on another round. But otherwise she's feeling WAYYYYYY better. The doctor shared all of her lab results from her trip to the E.R. Mommy didn't realize how bad the kidney infection had gotten, including a temperature of close to 105 and blood pressure of 198/96. No wonder she felt so miserable! But she's almost all better now!

While we were stuck at home, Mommy figured we should have a "at home spa day". She painted our toes and curled our hair. I was soooo good and didn't touch my toenails until they were dry. I could get used to this "girly" thing!

This weekend was all about celebrating Christmas. Saturday night Mommy and Daddy went to a fun Christmas party and I got to hang out with my friends Kirk and Marianne. And then Sunday night was our church's annual Christmas party, known as the Figgy Jiggy. It was a lot of fun! Great food, great entertainment, great friends. We still have a few Christmas celebrations to go, and I'm particularly looking forward to this Thursday's Life Group party. Mommy will be cooking her first turkey "unassisted", so keep her in your prayers. Hope you are all enjoying this Christmas Season! Love ya!

Mommy's getting better... slowly...

Some of you may know that Mommy thought she had a pulled muscle in her back and had a bit of the flu. Well, Sunday night I got to hang out with my Auntie Jenny when Daddy took Mommy to the emergency room. Her back pain had become unbearable and she spiked a temperature of over 104 (not to mention chills, nausea, dizziness, etc). Anyway, at the hospital she was diagnosed with a kidney infection and they pumped her full of morphine, antibiotics, antinausea drugs and fluids by IV. They got to come home Sunday night, but Monday Mommy was pretty much KO'ed (and Daddy was back at work) so I got to play the entire day with Auntie Jenny again! Anyway, she's slowly getting better, although the antibiotics are working much more slowly than she would like. Please keep her in your prayers. I'm trying to be a "low maintenance" toddler for her right now... but it's REALLY hard...

Christmas Dance Party...

Hey there everyone! Many people have commented on my awesome dance moves from past videos. So this year I have compiled "Molly's Christmas Dance Party", a video that highlights some of my more recent moves. That way you too can dance like me at your next holiday party! Have fun and keep on dancing! Word out...

Goodbye Thanksgiving... Hello Christmas...

Well, Christmas is looming on the horizon and I couldn't be happier about it. Ever since Mommy and Daddy have been married, they have decorated their house for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. So in an effort to not fail tradition, we dug out the Christmas tree and put it up Saturday! Mommy was a little worried about me being around the tree, but it only took a few stern warnings and one time-out for me to realize that I could only touch the decorations very gently. The novelty has already worn off and now I just prefer to enjoy the tree from afar.

Mommy also let me watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special as her introduction to what Christmas is truely about. Although the highlight of the show for me was definitely the music, I am intrigued by the whole "baby in a stable" thing. Mommy also bought me my own "Little People Nativity Set" to tell me about Jesus, but right now I'm more interested in the sheep, donkey and camel that came with it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Hope you all enjoyed your festivities! And as for the Canadian contingent... Happy "Month After" Thanksgiving! What an awesome Thanksgiving here at the van Riessen home. My Nani flew down from Canada and I had a great visit with her. I was a little grumpy though and it looks like my last set of teeth (incisors) are coming in. So Nani got to see my "less happy" side. But we still had fun and she taught me all kinds of songs. I love it when she sings to me!

We were pretty busy her entire visit. Trips to the mall, toy store, zoo, factory outlets, restaurants, etc. And of course we enjoyed a taste of gluttony on Thanksgiving day, when we all went to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Fred's house for dinner. There were 11 adults and 5 kids there and they cooked TWO turkeys! There was enough food left over for another meal for sixteen people! Of course, I'm a little picky, so even with all that amazing food available, all I wanted to eat were Cheerios and raisins. Oh... and olives of course. But the meal was followed up with an unreal dessert buffet including your choice of pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin squares, pumpkin cake, brownies, key lime pie and ice cream. So I made up for my small meal at dessert time. Yummy... Anyway, as it's Thanksgiving, I would like to give my list of things I'm thankful for:

1. God

2. my parents

3. my relatives

4. my pacifier

5. olives... oh, and ice cream...

Love you guys! Big Thanksgiving hugs sent your way!

Mmmm... Thanksgiving is coming...

Hi everyone! Not too much to report around here. Mommy has had a bit of consulting work to crank through over this last week and Daddy finished replacing our furnace and ducting system. We took another trip to the zoo and of course had our Thursday play date with Ava and Keilani (see picture below)! And on Friday night, Mommy and Daddy got to go out without me and I stayed home to play with Auntie Paige. It's only the 3rd time they've gone out at night without me and they both seemed a little excited about the prospect. I don't understand why?

Mommy and I have started planning for the holiday season. We've started our Christmas shopping which is fun. Mommy has already caved and has given me one of the stocking stuffers she bought. I think she's even more excited then I am! And this evening my Nani arrives from Canada for a visit! It's a bit of a bittersweet visit because Papa wasn't able to join her this trip. He is suffering from some really bad back problems and had to cancel his flight. We'll TOTALLY miss him, but I'm happy that at least Nani is coming (even though she's leaving him to fend for himself)! WE LOVE YOU PAPA!

A visit from Grandma & Grandpa!

I had an awesome weekend! Grandma and Grandpa Belknap came for a visit and totally spoiled me! Their whirlwind visit began with a trip to the Folsom Zoo. We saw all kinds of animals, but my favorites were the peacocks, which roamed around all over the place, and the tigers. The tigers were playing with a giant rubber ball, and they would stalk it and then pounce on it just like a giant house cat. It was really fun to watch!

When we were leaving the zoo, Grandma took me on a train ride. We got to ride the coolest little steam engine around the property. I grinned from ear to ear.

We also got to spend some time with our extended family... the Hare clan (my great aunt and uncle) and the Faddis clan (cousins). This meant that I got to spend some time playing with my cousins Brandon, Logan and Brody! Those guys know how to play. I was exhausted after an evening of chasing them around. Particularly Logan. He and I had a blast playing with a section of air conditioning ducting that Daddy gave us. It was like a giant slinky that we could climb through!

I also loved seeing cousin Brody. I kept sneaking over to him and trying to pet his head. He's just such a cute baby! I felt bad because he was teething so bad, so I gave him one of my teething rings. I hope he feels better soon. Looking at this picture, I think you can definitely tell we're related!

Watch out Old MacDonald... here I come!

Although my spoken vocabulary is still a little limited to "bye", "Mommy", "Dada" and "banana", I have been learning some animal sounds. So far I know what a fish, pig, sheep, dog, snake and frog say. I bet you didn't even know that fish speak! Maybe it's easier for me to pick this up because I'm pretty much obsessed with animals right now. I love all things animals... toys, books, America's Funniest Home Videos, you name it! Unfortunately because of my allergies, Mommy is in the process of finding new homes (read: Good Will) for all but the nicest of my stuffed animals, and the one she's keeping are being evicted from my bedroom. I'll eventually forgive her. Anyway, here's some of the animals I know!

Trick-or-treating & my long lost sister...

Well, Hallowe'en was not really up my alley. I did indeed get to try out the whole trick-or-treating thing at our neighbors but I wasn't thrilled about the whole experience. I wouldn't let Mommy and Daddy put me down the whole time we were trick-or-treating and I was completely scared of the ghouls and goblins decorating our neighbor's lawns. Since I whimpered the entire time, Mommy and Daddy quickly gave up and we went home. But then our doorbell kept wringing and all these people in scary costumes would yell "Trick or Treat" at us. Everytime the doorbell would ring I'd get more and more scared. So I went to bed early and slept it off. My favorite part was definitely sorting through all the colorful packages in my bucket that the neighbors gave me. I wonder what's in those little packages? And I wonder why I couldn't find any of them the next day?

Anyway, today I got to play with my friend Emma. Many people have commented that Emma and I may have been seperated at birth. But she's 4 months older than me, so it's pretty impossible we're long lost sisters. Our friend Ty was also over so we all had a lot of fun playing together.

Well, I hope you all survived the terror of Hallowe'en. Love ya!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Hey there everybody! Happy Hallowe'en! This is pretty much my first Hallowe'en, considering I don't really remember last year because I was just a baby. I don't know how excited I am about this whole event because I'm pretty timid around people in masks and costumes.

Mommy has been pretty excited and I ended up with two costumes. I already had a princess dress and she bought me wings for it to make me a fairy. And then she found a cute pumpkin costume at a thrift store and just "had" to get that too. Anything for a photo opportunity I suppose! I have to admit that I get a little whiny when she dresses me up. I don't like being messed with!

Mommy and Daddy are going to let me trick-or-treat at TWO houses tonight... our neighbors. That way I can just get a taste of what this whole Hallowe'en thing is all about. I personally think she just wants to parade me around in my costume to show people how cute I am. Anyway, I hope you have a FABULOUS Hallowe'en filled with lots of candy (yet few calories)! And a special Hallowe'en shout out to my cousins Alexander, Maya and Hailey! Wish I could be with all of you guys to celebrate and PARTY! Love you!