mother's day 2012

Mother's Day gets better and better each year.  I love being a mom, and words cannot express the amount of gratitude I have for my children.  They are everything to me.  Love abounds in our house because of them.  And I couldn't ask for a better example of a wonderful mother than my own mom.  She is my biggest fan, my best friend, my loyal companion.  She is there for me always with open arms to hug, a shoulder to cry on, and listening ears.  My mom shares in my experiences, and gets just as sad during my hard times and rejoices with me during my happy ones.  She has taught me all about friendship, family, the Gospel, and love.  I have also learned the true definition of clean, the love of baking, and the ability to be excited about everything.  I can only hope to be the kind of mother, grandmother, and woman that she is.

This is the usual scene around the house.  Josie is learning how to sit up, while Lillian is mastering her walking skills.

And laughter. They make each other laugh all day long, which is music to my ears.  This eye-to-eye look is priceless, and I would love to know what they're thinking.

What can I say... Josie's a good sport.

walking!

look who's walking...

first birthday

Happy Birthday to my sweet Lillian!  The past year has been the best year of my life, for she has brought us more joy and happiness than we could ever have imagined.  And that calls for a celebration.

Her party would not have been complete without her own Lillian-sized cake, and a candle as big as she.

2 of Lillian's favorite things at once: grandma and cake.

That's my girl- getting her next bite of cake ready before the first one is even swallowed.  

And don't lose that tight grip when you've got something good.

The party was a huge success- pizza, cake, presents, and lots and lots of love.  This girl is our heart, our joy, our everything.

11 months

At 11 months, Lillian is so much fun.  She loves exploring everything, and I often find her in her closet. Typical girl...

Her little feet are always busy- crawling, trying to walk, and she loves to cross her ankles when she's sitting.  These feet bring a smile to my face every day.

At 11 months, you can find Lillian laughing: at herself, at us, at the cat, at Josie.  

You can find her reading books: Hooray for Fish, Everywhere Babies, and The Going to Bed Book are her favorite.

You can find her eating: avocados, yogurt, and cheese.
You can find her sleeping: she takes 2 good naps each day and sleeps for 12 hours at night!
You can find her playing: stuffed animals, toys, magazines, the dishwasher... 

And you can find us happy: Lillian continues to bring us more joy and love than ever thought possible. Making us smile and laugh all day.

family photo shoot

Oh how we love our two little girls.  Lillian loves books, Josie loves binkies.  Lillian is moving non-stop, Josie could hang out in her bouncer all day.  Lillian can sleep for 15 hours straight, Josie can sleep for 3.  It's hard to believe that one day they might look the same age, for right now they are incredibly different.  But both of them bring us more joy than we could ever imagine. 

All pictures credited to Peg Watkins Photography.  Check her out here.

big and little sisters

Lillian is proud to show off her baby sister.  She is very curious about Josie, wanting to look, touch, and figure out what this new little creature is all about.

Sometimes Lillian gets a bit too close, but Josie seems to be a pretty good sport about it.  Lillian just wants to play!  It will be so much fun to see them become the best of friends.

santa claus is comin' to town

My mom and dad host a "breakfast with Santa" every year for all their grandchildren.  I love it because it carries on the tradition we had growing up of going to the "Tiffin Room" in ZCMI for breakfast with Santa. My parents do an awesome job, making the morning complete with a homemade breakfast, decorating gingerbread men, and of course, Santa.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus come together, bringing goodie bags of toys and treats for all the kids.  Lillian seemed a bit confused by all of this- not quite scared, just unsure of what to think.  I couldn't help but laugh as she did about 4 double-takes of the big guy in red.

family pictures

I decided we should get some family pictures taken of the three of us before it becomes the four of us. We love how Lillian's bubbly and happy yet calm and easy-going personality was captured perfectly! Once again, Peg rose to the occasion and did an awesome job- you wouldn't even know that the wind was howling like crazy. All photos are credited to Peg Watkins Photography.

Blessings

Lillian has brought wonderful blessings into our lives, more than she will ever know. So we felt grateful to have Dave give her a beautiful Priesthood blessing in church on Sunday. We know that Heavenly Father loves her beyond measure and we are so blessed to be her parents; oh how we love that sweet babe.

We accomplished our goal of having our basement and upstairs remodel finished by her blessing day! So proud of Dave for all of his hard work; more pictures to come. And yes, apparently we planned our outfits to fit in with our interior design color scheme.