5 months ago...

5 months ago, I was so blessed to have little Kaiya enter into Joshua's and my life.
We were full of awe, joy, love, and (yes) a little bit of fear.
How are we going to take care of this thing? This living, breathing, little human life?
The task seemed so overwhelming at the time. (Hormones may have played a part in that.)

There were so many unknowns, and there still are. But I feel more and more confident in my role as Kaiya's mother every day. She is a little piece of Joshua and I that I will treasure for ever.

And to celebrate Kaiya's 5 months of life, I decided to take lots of pictures of this cutie patootie to document how much she has grown!

 

For some reason, she reminds me of Santa Claus in this picture...funny, huh?!

Ooooo, camera!

Just chillaxin'. And no, I did not place her hands there. She did that all by herself.
She's that cool.

 I love my big, 5-month old baby girl.

Cookies and baby teeth and rice cereal, oh my!

So, this past week has been quite eventful! Between getting ready for finals, being sick, and taking care of a sick baby, I haven't had much time to post about what's going on. So here's a quick recap of the past few days:

First: Friday was the Church Christmas party! We had so much fun baking THESE yummy cookies for it

and dressing Kaiya up as one of Santa's little helpers.
Cutest baby on the block?
I think so.

We also discovered that Kaiya has her first baby tooth growing in! She hasn't been super fussy or anything...she just likes to chew on, well, everything. I'll have to take a picture of that little tooth of hers.

In other news, Kaiya tried rice cereal for the first time today! She wasn't quite sure what to do with it and seemed more interested in the bowl and the spoon. She'll get it eventually, right? Video here.

And what are Joshua and I up to...?

...not putting our baby in the laundry basket, of course! ;)

Happy National Cookie Day!

In the words of my husband, 

"I like cookie day."

I mean really, what's not to love about a day devoted to cookies?!

So, I did the best thing there is to do on National Cookie Day...

and made these delicious goodies! Seriously, there is nothing better than lighting
my favorite Holiday Wreath Yankee candle, turning on some Christmas music, and baking cookies. 

Hope you got to eat some yummy cookies today!

Love,

JaM

The first time I met you...

Joshua,

    This afternoon we attended the BYU Folk Dance's Christmas Around the World performance. And it wouldn't be so much of a big deal... if we hadn't met on that same stage 2 years ago.

Me and Joshua two years ago during Christmas Around the World 2010

Seeing the show today reminded me how excited I was every rehearsal and every show to run onto that stage with you, hand-in-hand. At that time, we were just good acquaintances. Nothing more. I secretly thought you were WAY cute (even with all that stage makeup on). I didn't think you thought anything of me, really. Didn't think I had anything interesting to say that would grab your attention. Didn't think you'd EVER like me like me. 

I was wrong, obviously.

Two years later, we are married and have a baby girl together. I love you more now than I thought I ever could. Thanks for being mine. Thanks for asking me to be your dance partner for Christmas Around the World two years ago. And thank you for seeing it with me today and reviving those memories.

Love,

M

My little, growing girl

Kaiya amazes me with how fast she grows.

It makes me sad sometimes,

but extremely excited to see her developing into such a sweet little girl!

Kaiya thinks she's a big girl who can drink out of daddy's cup! 

She also likes to eat daddy's finger...

...hold her head up like a big girl...

...and make new friends! (Cousin Hannah on L, Kaiya on R) These two were so excited to play that they ended up grabbing each other's faces and clothes. Too cute!

By the way, Kaiya will be 5 months old
 in a couple weeks!

Oh my, the time does fly.
So I just try to soak in every precious moment.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Love,
JaM

I'm grateful for...

With Thanksgiving this past week, and Christmas coming up,

 I have so much to be grateful for...

I'm grateful for this little turkey of mine...

And this BIG turkey of mine.

I'm grateful for my marriage...

 And my little family.

 I'm grateful to be a mommy...

 And to have such a wonderful mommy...

 And daddy.

The Broyles grandparents with Kaiya.

I could go on and on and on with all the things I am grateful for in my life.

 I am so blessed.

What are you grateful for this year?

Much love,

JaM

I'll stop procrastinating...starting tomorrow!

So, something I have realized about myself (and I am sure I'm not the only one..at least I hope not!) is that I have a problem.

 A problem with procrastination.

Every day I think, "Okay Mikaila, today is going to be a productive day! I am going to wake up and get everything done on my to-do list...well, everything that I want to do. That homework due at the end of the week? Nah, I still have a while to get that done. That huge research paper due in a couple weeks? That's forever away!" I mean really, isn't that what all you students have thought at one time or another?! ;)

Unfortunately, I say to myself (every day) that I will "work on it tomorrow." Well tomorrow comes and I still don't work on it. Even if I have some spare time! I thought about this today and thought, why do I think this way? Won't I have to get these things done eventually anyway? Why not work on it now so I don't have to stress about it later? 

Well, this is something I am going to be working on. And now that I've made it public, my procrastinating tendencies will magically go away, right? Probably not. But I hope it'll give me incentive to be a little less of a procrastinator.

And while we're on the subject, I'd love to hear your best/worst/most epic procrastination stories! Just for fun. :)

P.S. In other news, Kaiya has successfully discovered the art of rolling from her back to her belly. Where has my little newborn gone?! She's just growing too fast!

Love,
JaM

The Blogging Bandwagon!

Well hello!

So, I have decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon to keep my friends and family (and I suppose any one else who is interested) up-to-date with the little McGlothin family here in Utah! I had been brainstorming potential blog names for the longest time and only came up with a few that I liked. After much internal debate and asking others' opinions, I decided on "Life with JaM." JaM stands for Joshua (my handsome hubby) and Mikaila. I thought it was pretty cute and unique! Plus, who doesn't like jam?!

Anyways, I am so excited to start documenting the everyday happenings in my life. I cannot wait to share with you the adventures I have with Joshua and our little baby girl, Kaiya!

P.S. I am totally new at this blogging thing and am a little confused with personalizing it. So, if you know of any places I could find tips or advice on blogging, I'd love to hear about it!

Love,
JaM