The First

Lily turned one.  It's crazy how fast this year has gone and how much has happened in a year.  

 This little gal is such a joy in our home.  Everyone at our house absolutely adores her and she is in the cutest phase.  I love watching her learn.  I am always amazed at her comprehension of things going on around her and how quickly she figures things out.

 She is saying quite a few words such as more, Audrey, Julia, Hi, daddy, light, Mama.  She isn't quite walking yet but will be soon.  She is obsessed with her little push walker.  We always call her "old lady" because it reminds us of a little old lady pushing around her walker.  Lily has gotten fast though and if you're not careful she'll mow you over.  She has actually ran over a couple of toys on purpose.  She's a mean little old lady with her walker.

 Lily adores her sisters and wants to be where they are at all times.  She'll stay downstairs with me unless they're home.  If they are upstairs playing she will make a beeline for the stairs and will be up in a flash.  Nothing will stop her.  And if they try she will mow them over with her walker I'm sure of it.

 She loves animals and can make a few animal sounds.  She has always been super chubby but is definitely thinning out.  She weighed nearly 21 lbs at six months and just weighs 22 lbs at a year.  You all remember those fat legs right?  They were epic that's for sure.

 She plays peek-a-boo with me every time I lay her in her bed.  She pulls her blanket that she loves more than life itself over her head and says, "oooo"  and then giggles like crazy.  She doesn't like to cuddle at all.  She likes to just be put in her bed and left alone.  I love cuddlers but I am not going to complain about a baby that goes to sleep so easy with such minimal effort.  When I take a picture she often gives me a squinchy eyed cheeser grin.  Oh my gosh it makes me want to gobble her up.

 She loves to eat.  She loves to drink.  She sucks down a sippy cup in record time.  When we gave her the cake for her birthday I assumed she would go to town but she even surprised me.  I honestly thought she was going to be sick after the damage she did.

 We tried to get her to wear the hat but that only enraged her.  So we gave in and took it off.

 She dug right into the frosting.

 And it was complete annihilation from there.

 She has such a spunky personality.  I could not adore her more.  Even typing all of this about her makes me tear up because I just love her so so much and it just goes so so fast.  I am just overwhelmed at the joy my children bring me.  I am so lucky.  I always want to enjoy these precious little moments I am given.

 Sucking down that milk.  Record time I tell you.

 On to the bath.  She adores baths until I wash her hair.  And then she screams and bats at the water on her face.  A bath brings the two extremes of joy and terror.

We took a video of her washing herself clean.  Oh we love you Lily!  Happy Birthday to our sweet girl.

Life's Snippets

I got an iphone not so long ago.  I have always been resistant to technology and still had a flip phone that was subject to much mockery.  Well the iphone was free, and I must say I have been enjoying it very much.  I think one of the main reasons is the camera is so much better, instagram is lots of fun and it captures little moments of my life that would have been missed otherwise.  It's just so easy to catch those moments with a phone I always have with me.  So here are some of what has been going on with my life the past little while.

We are so happy the Hagbergs live so close and like watching Buckeye games with us.

 Julia had a birthday a while back and this was a picture before she headed off to school in the wee hours of the morning.

 Audrey took a miniature pumpkin to school for show and tell.

 I got apples here from the church orchard for 25 cents a pound!  Things apparently grow really well around here.

 We have found some fall leaves and fun parks.

 And we have thrown those leaves.

 And been forced to lay in the leaves so a picture could be taken.

 This was a particularly fun day.

 We have been drinking lots of hot chocolate with the cooler weather.  Add a smidge of pumpkin spice creamer.  You won't regret it.

 Audrey had a parent day at her dance class.  She is really loving dance and it was so fun to watch her. It was also fun to watch the girls that don't listen and the girls that dance to the beat of their own drum.  This age is pretty darn cute.

 The Boise Temple Open House was such a great experience for our little family.  I teared up more than once while talking about different rooms with my girls.  Such a sweet reminder of eternal families.

 The inside is amazing.  I CAN NOT wait until it finally opens!

 One of my very very favorite things about living here is that every once in a while I get to eat here...

 Julia's piano teacher has a little kitten and Lily was in heaven.  I had no idea she would be so excited about it.  She was hysterical with laughter until I took the kitty away.  And then she was hysterical with anger.

 Vampire teeth are a perfect addition to any party.

 Julia's grandma sent her a new scooter for her birthday and she absolutely loves it.  We have a park next to us that has big hills.  It was fun watching her go down the big hills and the inevitable panic when she was going too fast.

 Do you remember wax lips?  I remember thinking they were candy and wondering why they tasted so nasty.  I also remember my mom getting them so I could break a piece off and wrap it around a bracket of my braces so it wouldn't cut the tar out of my mouth.  Audrey would put hers in and stare at herself in the mirror.

 We had friends invite us to go pumpkin shooting.  That sound like something they would do in Idaho doesn't it?

 This looks like something they would do in Idaho.

 I hear gun shots going off all morning at my house.  Apparently hunting is a big deal around here.  We prefer to shoot at pumpkins instead.

 Julia won the student of the month for Respect.  I was so proud of her.

 I voted.  I was really disappointed with the results.  Bryan's been angry for several days about the results.

 I am in love with this baby's hair right now.  Those curls are to die for.

 This hair do?  Well it leaves a bit to be desired.  This was a stay at home no school day.  That means messy head bands.

 This is the view from my jog the other day.  It was so beautiful, even with the sage brush.

 Lily turned one!  I couldn't believe I caught this picture so perfectly.  It describes her to a tee.  Pure joy.

 We took her out to eat for her birthday and got her favorite mac and cheese.  She inhaled it.

 This was the post cake bath.  I'll post more about my Lily later...

Halloween Time

It's funny to me that every state is so different and schools are different.  In Ohio there was no celebration for Halloween and the kids weren't allowed to wear costumes to school.  Here in Idaho the kids dressed up and had a Halloween parade and a school party.  It definitely makes it fun and we enjoyed going to the parade and seeing all of Julia's friends.  They asked the the kids dress as a storybook character (though no one heeded this request, especially the fifth graders that were dressed like skanks).  So Julia was Pinkalicious riding her unicorn Goldilicious.  

 When I saw this flying pink unicorn at the store in September I knew that it was made for Julia.  She has a sort of obsession with flying unicorns.  Not just unicorns.  FLYING unicorns.  We are very specific around here.

 Audrey LOVED getting to go to her class party and participate.  It was really fun to go to her classroom and meet her friends and watch her in her element.  I always want to be a fly on the wall while she's at school and it was entertaining to see her interact with her friends and teacher.

 We brought zombie glasses for the class.  You can imagine that they were a hit.  Julia went from a princess riding a flying unicorn to a zombie/vampire princess riding a flying unicorn.

 Here she is with her teacher.  She has been such a good fit for Julia and I am so pleased with how the year is going so far.

 Audrey also had a Halloween parade at her preschool.

 We carpool with two little girls in our ward and they have all become very good friends.  Olivia is in her class and Audrey frequently refers to her as her BFF.  She is such a kind and sweet little girl.  She is a good influence on Audrey.

 I took Audrey to Bryan's office to show him her costume.  Everyone went crazy over her and gave her all sorts of treats.  Audrey was thrilled.  She finds it very important for others to comment on how cute she is so when it happens, it is a big deal.

 Daddy even took us to lunch!  It was a real treat!

 That night the girls got dressed in their costumes for some hard core trick or treating.

 I even put make up on the girls.  Julia was really worried about it and kept telling me to "just do a little bit."  Audrey kept begging for more and kept staring at herself in the mirror.  It's funny how kids are different.

 You cannot imagine how difficult it was to get this picture.  Lily is becoming rather uncooperative.

 We met up with some friends at the trunk or treat.

 And then we did some official trick or treating.  This neighborhood is significantly more spread out than our condos in Ohio.  By the time we did a third of it we were exhausted.  The girls loved every second of it though and the weather was really nice.

 Some trick or treating buddies.  Audrey has made such great friends here.

 The stroller was the hot spot.  Maybe a tear or two was shed over who got to sit on it.  At one point I had four children piled on.  I tell you what, we all had tired legs by the end.

 The spoils.  Too much candy every year.

 The highlight of Lily's day.  Julia was horrified.