A Fresh Cut Tree

I absolutely LOVE Christmas trees!  I always have.  Christmas is simply not Christmas without the tree (well, I'm sure it still is Christmas but certainly not the same).  Beau and I started a tradition several years ago where we actually go and cut our own tree.  We usually go down to Sanpete County and head up Spring City Canyon to find the perfect tree.

This year was no different, except for the fact that this family tradition now included one more special person!  And that made the event super special and memorable!

I suppose it was also a little different because we did a little Pheasant Hunting before we actually headed up the canyon.

Beau was so excited to take Evie hunting.  Well, I guess she REALLY didn't hunt, but he was sure happy to have his girls with him while he did a little hunting himself.  Evie and I mostly just hung out near the truck.  The weather was AWESOME so we sang and giggled in the sun while we waited for Beau to return . . . which wasn't all that long.

This is Beau with his VERY good friend, Joe.  Joe and Beau are kindred spirits and Joe's family has become our family.  We love them dearly and stopping to "pheasant hunt" was probably more about stopping to see Joe and his boys than actually hunting birds.

But, since we were there, the boys did do a little hunting and they had a blast doing it.

Then . . . it was time to go do a different kind of hunting!  Tree hunting!  We headed up the canyon to see what we could find.

Gorgeous scenery, right?  It was kind of a weird year, because usually this road is snow packed by now.  We were super thankful for the pleasant conditions because we knew it could get too cold for our little Evie if we had to hike too far in the snow.

We spotted a pretty good group of trees from the road and we hopped out to see if one might work.  Well, this tree seemed perfect for us this year!  Despite the slightly chilly weather, I think Evie loved being out in the canyon and agrees that this tree will work perfectly.

Evie and I let Beau do all the hard work.  He cut the tree and then hauled it back to the truck.  What a good man!  Evie and I did our job of adoring the tree and cheering daddy on.

Lastly it was time to get our precious little Evie back in the warm truck.  Her little nose was turning pink.  Isn't she the cutest little winter baby you've ever seen?  Like most children, she doesn't usually care if she's cold as long as she's outside.  Regardless, we scurried back into the truck and drove our Christmas tree home to decorate.

Let the Holidays Begin!  

Thanksgiving - Round 2

We always get a Thanksgiving, Round 2 (as of a couple of years ago).  As mentioned in a previous post, we have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner the Saturday before Thanksgiving with Beau's family.  Then, depending on the year and what family we're scheduled to see on the actual Thanksgiving day (we switch back and forth between Beau's family and mine), that's where we go.  If it's the year for my family, we go to my mom and dad's house.  If it's the year for Beau's family, we take it easy and go out to dinner!

We started this going-out-to-dinner tradition the last time we were schedule with Beau's family (so, two years ago).  Since half of the family goes with the in-laws on the year that we're with Beau's family, we think it's fun to take the few of us and make it a low-key day.  No need to make a big Thanksgiving dinner for the few of us.  We absolutely love this tradition because it is so relaxing and we feel spoiled without doing all the work.

This year we went to the Daniel's Summit Lodge (just a little bit beyond Heber).  The food was absolutely delicious and the low-key style was just what we had hoped.

Daddy was nice to sit with Evie while the rest of us loaded up our plates.  Then we switched and Evie went with me to grab a little extra food.  As you can see, she is such a good little helper.  My plate was definitely lighter thanks to her help.

Amber, Don, and James were so much fun to have with us.  They got a little Evie lovin' in too!

Mom and Norm were a delight, as usual!  We got to ride up to the Lodge together, and we love spending extra time with these two.  We love our mom & dad!

And, there's no denying that they love Evie too!  

From our little family to yours . . . 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I Want a Pony, Daddy!

After Evie's lovely dinner of peas, it seems as if Beau and Evie were in the mood to do a little shopping.  What for, you ask? A pony!  Beau has been DYING to get Evie her own little pony and so they jumped on KSL to see what there was to offer.

Beau asks Evie, "How about this one?"  

I think she agrees!  What do you think!?

Let's get this girl on a horse!

Peas, Please!

Evie just started eating "baby food."  Here she is with her first attempt at it.  She threw us a few funny faces, but overall, she actually really liked her peas and we loved feeding them to her.

Thanksgiving - Round 1

The Thanksgiving Holiday started a little early for us.  Beau and I switch back and forth between families every-other-year and this year we were with his side of the family.  The sad part about this fact is that it is also the year that Beau's brothers go with their in-laws.  So, Beau's mom is super smart and decided to have our family Thanksgiving the Saturday before the actual Thanksgiving date so that we can all be together.

We have VERY good cooks in the family so it works out well to have everyone bring something so that it isn't too overwhelming for mom.  The food was FANTASTIC!

I love my Sisters-in-Law.  Here's Jody & Jamie (and Evie) looking cute as ever.

 

Me & Evie.  Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen!?

Every year we go around the table and say what we are thankful for.  To no surprise, I mentioned how thankful I was for the addition of Evie to our family.  She is so sweet and brings so much joy into our lives.  I don't know if I've ever been more thankful for anything else in my entire life!

Being thankful for Evie DEFINITELY means being thankful to her Birth Mother, Savannah.  She was (and still is) a vital part to our family plan and words cannot express how incredibly thankful we are for her.  We just happened to be graced by Savy's presence this weekend and were SO glad when she accepted our invitation to join us for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Uncle Chance holding Evie and Grandpa Norm kissing her toes.  The family
absolutely adores Evie.  How can they not?

The neighbor's dog wanted to join us for dinner.  It was the funniest thing!  He would
run to the back window and practically beg to be let in.

Oh man!  HaLee is at such a fun stage right now.  She knows to fold her
arms during the prayer.  I couldn't help but snap a picture of her.  What a doll!

The table was decorated beautifully.  Here's Beau's place setting.

 Here's the entire family during dinner.  It was so nice to have us all together.  We have such a nice family and I love that we are also friends who enjoy spending time with each other.

Last, but not least . . . Here is Beau with his baby blue eyes.  He loves her and it's so sweet to watch how he loves her.  He'll do anything for his sweet baby!  I'm SO incredibly thankful for him in my life and so grateful that he is a good father.  Evie and I are lucky ducks!

Evie - 6 Months

Little Evie is a whole 6-months old.  She keeps growing, but don't worry!  She's still our little Evie doll!  We went to her 6-month wellness check today and she's growing well.  Here are her stats:

Weight:  17 lbs, 1.5 oz. = 67.83 Percentile
Length:  27.5 inches = 95.76 Percentile
Head Circumference = 10.73 Percentile

Everything is bigger than it was last time and that's what the doctor really looks for.  While the percentiles help to have something to compare to, the doctor says they aren't always spot-on accurate (especially because we had a different medical assistant do the measuring this time and she may not measure exactly like our usual medical assistant).  However, when I called to tell Beau the numbers and I told him about her length he said, "Can you say WNBA?"  Ha, ha!  We do have a tall little girly.

What is she doing now?

• She figured out the "ba" sound and loves to practice it constantly.  "Ba, Ba, Ba," is constant in her vocabulary right now.  Man, it's awesome to watch her learn and pick up on stuff.
• She's REALLY turned up the volume on her talking and it almost sounds like singing sometimes.  Dad thinks it sounds like an elk call.
• She's getting much better (and accurate) when it comes to holding her own bottle.  She'll hold it sometimes, but still leans on us to hold it most of the time.
• She sometimes falls asleep often with one leg in the air.  Serious.  I've got to get a picture of this! 
• She started eating rice cereal (Oct. 16).  She's getting more in the routine of it and is eating it fairly well (most days).  She'll get to start trying her veggies and fruits soon.
• She LOVES to watch our Codee Dog and she just started to recognize Codee's name.  We'll ask, "Where's Codee?" and she'll look right at the dog.  Smart, eh?
• She likes to play Peek-a-Boo.
• "Baby Blue" has just made it into her favorite song list.  Beau started singing it to her and she loves it so I like to say it's Beau's & Evie's special song.  I love this because baby blue really IS the color of her eyes!  Sweet!
• She just barely started rolling over both ways.  She's been able to roll from her back to her tummy and now she can roll from her tummy to her back.
• She can bear weight on her legs when held upright.  She loves standing up like a big girl!
• She just started to object if we try to take a toy away.  She knows what she wants!
• She'll work to get a toy that's out of reach and she'll look for dropped objects/toys.

She is soooo much fun!  We love this little doll face more than words can say!

6-Month Smiles

Here's our Evie Doll on this very day!  She's a full six months old today.  I'll bring you a full 6-month review soon.  For now, you can let her smile melt your heart.  It sure melts mine!

And, here's little Evie yesterday while she was sitting on daddy's lap. She got to wear dad's hat and she thought she was pretty cool. I guess she is!