One day at a time....

Bella's 3rd Birthday

2009-08-11T12:23:00.010-06:00

I am a complete slacker, I know but hopefully the baby on the way is a good excuse :)

Bella turned 3 in April and had a blast at her party!! She was so excited for all her friends to come and thrilled that it was an Ariel Birthday. We played pin the crown on Ariel, colored Ariel pictures and had the bubble machine out again - what more could a little girl want?

After that, we had a cake and what a cake it was! Joe put forth his baking skills and man, it was good. I put on my final touch - an Ariel candle.

She adored her presents and made out like a bandit but most of all, I think she loved being the center of attention -I can't believe my little girl is 3!!

Our Vacation

2009-03-17T14:20:00.015-06:00

We just got back from our 10 day vacation to Disneyland/ San Luis Obispo, CA...

and we had a GREAT time!!

We went with my brother, Nate and his family as well as my mom. Bella loved it, but I think in Disneyland, meeting the characters had to have been her favorite. She got to see Jessie, the cowgirl from Toy Story 2 AND she dressed up like Ariel, the Little Mermaid to see all the princesses! What more could a little girl ask for?

She loved that she had a princess hat like all the other little girls - Winnie the Pooh and Tigger were the last characters we saw.... what a smile!

She even got to see Tinkerbell and Rosetta in Pixie Hollow - she showed them both her tattoo they gave her at the hotel and told Tink she has wings just like hers at home. Oh, and the tea cups, what a blast - just look at those crazy kids!

Whew, what a whirlwind - 5 crazy but fun days in Disneyland.... now off to San Luis Obispo to go to the Beach!

This was Bella's first time at the Beach - what a water baby! It was little too cold to actually swim in the water but we had a blast!

Thanks to Aunt Georgianna who brought buckets and shovels for the girls and also told us the best time to visit the beach - at low tide.

How cool is this place? We have to come out here more often!

We had a great time! I am so blessed to have such and amazing family and be able to experience these things together and to know we will love each other after the trip!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-28T15:14:00.022-07:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Bella had such a fun time! She was so excited to see all her cousins and said every gift was "so cute!"
Here she is at Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristi's house getting the first round of gifts...

She also had a great time helping dad shovel the snow when we finally got our snow storm for this season... we were beginning to think we wouldn't have a white Christmas and then it came... 14 inches by Christmas Day!

And then it was Christmas Eve and on to Grandmom's house (that would be what Bella calls my mom) to be with all her cousin's on my side... including Justin's and his kids, JJ and Bre! What a treat!!

Here is Bella "helping" bring in the presents to the big room so we can all fit...and after we tried to get 19 kids to sit through a story, it was time for presents!!

Christmas morning we headed up to Joe's parents and we were the first ones there but only because of the massive snow storm! It was so scary but we made it there and so did everyone
else... we had a great morning!

Bella and her cousin, Mary having a Tea PartyBella and Daddy playing with the blocks that Grandpa made for her... What a cool gift!!

Whew, what a day but every minute was a great memory. We just want to wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season!

Here comes Santa Claus!

2008-12-15T01:00:00.006-07:00

We put up our tree right before Thanksgiving but Joe made me promise to not put up the ornaments until after, so we spent Monday night after Thanksgiving putting all the ornaments on the tree. Bella loves to play with them, I gave up on having them my way and just let her have it to herself so she is constantly re arranging. She is getting so excited for Christmas! I don't know if it because she finally gets it or if she is just getting excited cause I am :) I love this time of year!! I went out shopping on Black Friday - insane but worth it in my mind.
We also decided to get Family pictures done for our Christmas cards this year...Licia did a great job. Bella loves to smile at the camera but be careful when you tell her to "say cheese" cause she says it the ENTIRE time you are taking pictures... she is so funny!
We are so grateful for this time of year and all the blessings we have... especially for our family and friends, you mean so much to us.
We wish you a wonderful Holiday season

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T20:50:00.003-07:00

Here we are... all together.
Top row: Left to right - Mandy, Nate, Licia, and Mom
Bottom Row: Left to right - Monet, Justin and Krissy.

Bring out the hats and mittens....

2008-11-18T17:22:00.007-07:00

I just had to show you all Bella in her snow gear.... we had one day of snow and it came almost as quickly as it left, but that didn't stop us! We went out and got snow boots for both Bella and I so we could go have some fun!!

As most of you know, I have started working as an Advisor for Lia Sophia Jewelry and I just have to share with you how much I am enjoying it. I can't deny how much I love getting the jewelry for a discount AND getting a paycheck, but I just love being able to host these shows and be able to help others have a fun girls night out. It is hard to leave Bella every time but she is now getting used to being home with Dad and I think that is really good for both of them as well.
I just wanted to share this all with you and I also wanted thank those of you that have been such a support to me. I am looking forward to sending out my Christmas cards with gift certificates for everyone!!!

If any of you are interested in booking a show (GREAT Hosting Benefits) or would just like to check out the jewelry you can go to www.liasophia.com/mandycosman

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-05T14:05:00.006-07:00

Happy Halloween Everyone!
In this house, we LOVE, LOVE Halloween! We had our Annual Halloween party this year and it was a blast! For those of you who missed it, we missed having you.
Joe was a chef and made some great stuff for the party, I was Goldilocks with a head full of blonde curls and Bella was Jojo the clown.Joe even made a spider for our basement "spook alley, " he never ceases to amaze me! It was so eerie and creepy with the lights off but here is a shot of it before we got the lighting all set up. This thing was HUGE! It was 8 feet across and made from cardboard! What a smart hubby I have.

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Yea, it's Autumn!

2008-10-29T16:02:00.012-06:00

I LOVE FALL! I love the falling leaves, I love the smells, and I love the cooler weather.

Bella is loving the activities - We took her to Cornbelly's this week. It is at Thanksgiving Point which is really close to our house. It has a corn maze, bounce house, a cow train - She loves this, and we had to put her in the "Bella" cow seat of course!

She even went through the Creature with Joe ( it is a HUGE blow up of a monster) She had a blast with Meg, our neighbor and her 2 kids, Dayton and Lexi and my mom decided to come!

Another new thing in our house this season is that BELLA is now Potty Trained! YEA!!
She is doing so great - still has accidents now and again but for the most part, she is a little rock star! She has become such a big girl... I can't believe she is 2 and 1/2 now. Time just flies! She is so independent and just makes me laugh with all she has to say. She loves to play outside with the neighbors, every morning she wakes up and tells me she needs to go play with her friends.

Memory Lane

2008-10-07T15:09:00.001-06:00

1. Leave one memory that you and I had together, as a comment on my blog. Anything goes.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll check to see if you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Life Goes On...

2008-08-19T16:45:00.010-06:00

Sorry I haven't written in forever but I have been using FACEBOOK and catching up with old classmates and others that I haven't talked to in years...so cool!

Bella is such a busy bee. She is now 28 months old and as crazy as can be!
She loves to watch Disney but has a few faves that are the only ones that will keep her attention...Little Mermaid is one as well as Princess Stories. She loves to play dress up and put on any available shoes at any given moment... she is better in heels than I am!
She loves to talk on the phone and will use anything from a remote to a shoe as a phone. She also just started to "sing" around the house. Her grandmom (my mom) gave her an adorable stage for her 2nd birthday and it came with a plastic microphone. She is walking around with that singing. So Cute! We had a wonderful 4th and 24th of July.
Bella didn't care for the sparklers

but was sure to clap and yell at the others!
We had my family over on July 5th (it was my oldest daughter, Kiersten's birthday... bitter sweet day for me) and we had a blast! Tons of food, laughs and fireworks! We then did a big BBQ with our neighbors on the 24th.
Our garden is looking so good but we are still waiting for something to eat off of it and we all know patience is something I lack. I keep reminding myself that this was our first garden and we will try again earlier next year.
Joe is working long hours and still trying to put in time at night for making videos so we are catching those family moments when we can... he is so great about giving Bella her bath everynight and reading those bedtime stories! He makes the best storybook reader cause he does all the voices!
Nate and Laura also had their 3rd and final child on the 11th of August... a boy! His name is Jammison Ray and is a doll! He weighed 8 something when he was born and eats really well! He looks like such a little man. We now have no one pregnant on my side, a first I believe!
We had a great Sunday Dinner this week at my house... Justin came! He is still in the care center but is allowed a few outside visits a week for a couple of hours. It was so great to see him back in my kitchen. He is still struggling but everyday is a new one. We are all so grateful for all the thoughts and prayers that you give. If you want more updates on him, check out his blog at http://www.justinbutts.blogspot.com/
We are also holding a Donation Yard Sale for him on September 6th on State Street in Orem. Email me if you have any donations you can give or if you want to stop by.
amanda_cosman@hotmail.com

Let Freedom Ring

2008-07-01T11:54:00.004-06:00

So we are now officially hitting those Summer temps and Bella LOVES to be outside! She wakes up every morning and wants to wear her Tinterbell pretty dress which is a Tinkerbell swimsuit with a skirt. She also reminds me to put on the sunscreen as well.
She makes me laugh everyday, without fail. I am blessed. I have tried to spend the past month getting my house decorated for the 4th of July and finish a few decorating touches in the kitchen and front rooms. I can't believe we have lived here for a year and we are still trying to get settled in. Joe has been working so hard to get our yard done. He has finished putting in the sod and put in a 12 X 12 patio last weekend. GO JOE!! Our garden is looking good, we actually have a tomato already! I will put some pictures up of his great work. We just have one final area to complete this year before we call it quits. We will work on trees, rocks and a fence next year.
Joe has been working really hard this month at work. He has a deadline that is up on July 7th so he has been putting in some long nights. He was able to come home last night so that I could go to a concert with my baby sister, Krissy. Krissy works full time as well as going to school part time so I rarely get to spend time with her. It was so fun and great to have some one on one with her! She amazes me... mother of 4 and still doing what she does.
Speaking of family, my brother is doing as well as can be expected. He is still in the hospital, it will be 2 months on the 3rd of July. What a trooper! Remember, if you would like more of an update, please check out his site @ www.justinbutts.blogspot.com there is also a link for donations if you are able. What ever you are able to do is so appreciated.
We hope that this month brings you fun and a time of celebration. We have been given so much and now is the time to remember where it came from.

Is it really June already??

2008-06-05T17:49:00.002-06:00

Hi All!
I can not believe it is June already! You gotta love this Utah weather... one minute it is 50 degrees and then the next day it jumps to the mid 80's.
We are doing well considering.... my brother, Justin was in a serious motorcycle accident the beginning of May (that would be why I didn't post last month) and has been in and out of surgery since then. He is still in ICU and will be for a while. If you want more info on that, you can visit his blog (courtesy of me) at www.justinbutts.blogspot.com. We also have donation site set up there if you are able.

Bella turned 2 the end of April and it was SO much fun! We had a little party for her friends here at the house and then she had a party at both Grandma and Grandpa Cosman's and Grandmom's (my mom) house. What a lucky girl!

Joe just put in our sod in the back yard last night.... it is amazing what a little green will do. I can't wait to get the pool out for Bella and just enjoy the weather, that is if we ever get a summer.

Anyway, take care all and talk to you soon!

Disneyland!!

2008-03-25T19:13:00.003-06:00

We had so much fun! The kids got along great! Bella woke up every morning there asking to see Ethan and Logan.
The weather was in the low to mid 70's, so much better than snowy Utah. We just had a great time.
Joe and I are looking forward to getting our yard finished well, I don't know if Joe is as excited as I am as he knows he will have to do the majority of the work! We have our front yard done as well as the sprinkler system and an additional car port but we need the sod the back as well as landscape. I hope to have it done by Bella's birthday (April 29th)
Speaking of her birthday, I can't believe she will be 2! My baby is so big!! She is now talking up a storm! She is so smart - She can say all her colors (although she doesn't remember what is what) and can count to ten at any given moment. She loves to wear my shoes and jewelry and she is just starting to take off her clothes so she streaks threw the house often laughing her head off.
We are in the process of getting her "big girl" room done as well as her bathroom. We thought it would be easier to move her into a new room rather than move the furniture... go figure! I am enjoying the decorating.
All is well, we are enjoying life and each other and there is talk about adding another but who knows when that will happen.... we will be sure to tell when it does though!

Happy 2008!!

2008-02-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already in February! This time is going way too fast.
We are currently counting down the days until our Disneyland trip with Joe's brother Matt, his wife Kristi and their two boys, Ethan and Logan. Ethan is 3 (will be 4 in May) and Logan is 2 months (to the day) younger then Bella.
I am excited for this month, I love Valentine's day and 4 days later is my birthday! I will be 30 this year.... that is so weird. Some days I don't feel near that old and others, well you know how it goes.
Bella is so fun!! She is getting so smart and becoming such a little person. She loves to talk - She says many, many things now. My favorites are the following...
She calls my mom, Grandmom. She takes the clothes off her baby doll and goes around the house dancing with her saying "Nakey, Nakey." She loves her stuffed hippo (calls it a pippo) named Sprinkles, he sleeps with her everynight.
She loves to tell me what shoes she wants to wear everyday. It is either slippers or boots. She likes to wear anything on her head. Her favs are the laudry basket and her mega blocks bag.
We are all doing well and I am thankful for each and everyday that we get to be together.

Time goes by so quickly...

2007-11-01T12:53:00.000-06:00

Why does October fly by so quickly?? I guess because there are so many things going on in just that one month!

Joe and I held our annual Halloween Party and I would like to say I thought it was a raging success. We had everyone (execpt Monet's husband) here and it was great... what was even better is that we have a house that can fit everyone! Tons of food, laughter and just a great ole time.

Bella made a very cute witch but not everyone knew what she was because she rarely had the hat on her head... still cute! I thought I would be the Queen of Hearts and Joe dressed up with a chef hat and jacket.

We took Bella out last night for a little bit of Trick or Treating... that was an experience! Our first stop was at our neighbors across the street, Russ and Mindy's. They have 4 adorable kids and they looked just as festive as the kids in their matching cowboy outfits. Bella had a great time with all the noise and food and kept trying to catch the kitty that just wasn't having it. She ate an entire corndog! She is a Cosman for sure.

We then thought we would go down the street and see how far we could go before she had it.... about 4 houses was it. She didn't want to go until both Joe and I were holding her hands and then she thought it would just be best if she held up her legs so we did all the work. We got to house #1 and she just stared at the lady with the candy in the bowl. She didn't get it. I then put one of the treats in her bag for her. She immediately put another in the bag and then another.
We all laughed and she just looked at us like we were crazy. House #2 and #3 she started to get the hang of it. Ring the bell, take candy, walk away. We tried to get a Thank you in there but no luck, she was on a mission.
We got to house #4 and she was totally distracted by the dog that met us at the door. I then picked out a sucker for her and put it in the bag. She didn't want it in the bag and she was sure to let me know it.
We were done, we made our way back to our house with 4 pieces of candy and a sucker in her mouth!
She spent the rest of the night dancing to our Halloween music in her costume helping us answer the door to the few trick or treaters.
Oh by the way, the sucker lasted until she got it tangled in the fake web had set up... OOPS!

A day in the life of....

2007-10-18T18:28:00.000-06:00

I think one of the best things in the world is to have a friend that knows you so well that you can go months, even years without talking then one day get a phone call and wa- la... it's like you saw each other last week!

Bella decided that she wanted to hide her "kiki" today. She put her binky inside the subwoofer and that was too bad because there is no way to retrieve them from speaker world. I think she is now in mourning for her loss.
Joe just told me she now has 2 in there. I asked if we could cut the back of the speaker and get them out. He looked at me kinda funny and said, "let me get this straight, you want to ruin a $200 subwoofer to get out a $4.00 set of pacifiers? "
Anyone that knows me will get this. My response was "maybe cause I knew what one of the binkies looked like but I didn't know what the other one looked like to replace it." Yea, I know.

Her vocabulary is getting bigger everyday.... she is now saying the following:
ball, mom, daddy, kiki (binky), mine, bite, drink, sock, shoes, puppy, kitty, apple, banana, duck, bath, get down, up, sit, me -ma (grandma), bottle, eat, thank you and please.