Beau Is a Winner

He totally is!  He was nominated for an alumni award at Snow College and, after they reviewed all the recipients, he was chosen as the winner for the Lorenzo Snow Young Alumnus award.  This award recognizes recent Snow College graduates who have gone on to demonstrate excellence in their personal and professional achievements.

Anyone who knows Beau well will attest to his determination to work hard, achieve great results, and inspire others along the way.  He TOTALLY deserves this award and so much more.  I'm kind of a proud wife.  :)

Easter Fun

We had a lot of fun with our Easter celebrations this year!  Evie was WAY into the Easter egg hunts and Addie added another element of sweetness to everything.

We started with a family Easter party on my side of the family.  Everyone was able to make it . . . even my sister's family from Idaho came.  We always do a huge Easter egg hunt, filled by a very yummy lunch.  Afterwards, the kids just play and play.  

Here are all the younger cousins right before the hunt.
(The older cousins are "too cool" to get in the photo these days.)

Evie found lots of eggs and loaded up on the candy that was scattered all over the yard.
We had a blast following her around the yard.  It was hard to keep up with her . . . she is so fast!

Here I am with my little Sweet Pea.  She is so darn cute!

We spent Easter morning just with our little family.  Evie made her way into our room where we all snuggled together on our bed for a while.  

We watched a video about Jesus because we want our girls to know that Easter is more than about eggs containing candy.  Evie is definitely at an age where she is starting to understand more and more and we want her to know Jesus and follow his example.  If you want to watch what we watched . . .   This is the video we watched.  It's only two minutes long.  Evie was actually VERY engaged and when it came to the part where Jesus wasn't in the tomb she asked, "Where did Jesus go?"  We continued to watch and when he showed up in white she said very excitedly, "There He is!"  I tell you . . . these little kids KNOW and they feel of the truth and the love that Jesus has to offer us!  

After that, we asked Evie if she wanted to see if the Easter bunny left her a surprise?  We told her that the Easter bunny brings surprises and he always includes one about Jesus since Easter is about Him.  She was excited to go see.  

She loved going through her basket.  She got an Easter book called "Easter Walk" where a couple of kids go on a treasure hunt with grandpa and find things that resemble the Easter story.  She also got a new Pez dispenser of a baby chick, a new train for her train set (Emily), a new dress, and the "Penguins of Madagascar" movie.  There were a couple of "healthy" treats in there too.

Addie clearly loves her basket too!  She got a little board book entitled, "My Heavenly Father Loves Me."  She also got a bunny rabbit Pez, a hide-n-seek book, a new dress, and baby lotion.  

The Easter bunny hid a few eggs for Evie to find too.

We then just hung out and read their new books and snuggled with our girls.  We're so incredibly grateful for them!

We had Easter dinner with Beau's family.  We enjoyed being with them.  Evie loves playing with HaLee . . . they are only 9 months different in age and they have so much fun together.  

Their aunt Amber surprised the girls with this motorized car!  They were truly surprised and VERY delighted!  I'm sure that car will get plenty of use!

The girls also got to go on a little Easter egg hunt in Nana and Papa's backyard.

We had so much fun with family this weekend!  We're so grateful for the reason behind Easter . . . that our Savior died for us, that he rose, and that he lives.  His atonement is real and allows us to live forever with our families.  

We hope you had a beautiful Easter weekend!  Happy Easter from all four of us in the Hunter clan!  

Adeline at 3 Months

This little sweet pea is still growing.  Oh, how they grow so stinkin' fast during their first year.  Addie is  coming along perfectly and reaching all the milestones she should be.  To boot . . . she's the sweetest ever and we looooove spending every minute with her.

What is she doing now?

• She is SO full of smiles.  She has a huge smile that is super infectious.
• She now giggles.  She loves to find that giggle and I love to pull it out of her.  
• She is very ticklish.  This comes in handy when I really want to hear her giggles. 
• She smiles big when I kiss her cheeks.  And, let's be honest . . . those cheeks are SO hard to resist.  Even more so when I get a huge smile when I kiss them.
• She must have gone through a growth spurt and has now backed off for a minute because she is eating a little less now.  She eats about 3 ounces per feeding on average. (She was doing 4 on average when I reported last month.)
• The reduction in eating has also resulted in a reduction of sleeping during the night.  She was giving me a good 6-hour stint at night and then going right back to her regular 3-hour intervals.  But, now I'm getting a 4-hour stint and then heading back to the 3-hour intervals.  It's exhausting.  But, I've got to be honest and say that I couldn't be happier that it's Addie that is wearing me out. I tell her almost every morning that it's a good thing she is so cute, because I seriously cannot be mad about having this sweet girlie in my home . . . regardless of sleep deprivation.  I mean, it's nothing that an afternoon Diet Coke can't fix . . . right?
• She loves to follow things with her eyes.  She gets quite fascinated with the mobile above her swing.  And, quite honestly, Evie moves around nonstop and Addie loves to follow her with her eyes.  She also just started watching her toes move.
• She LOVES it when she is sung to.  She will actually start to "sing" with me (which sounds like nonstop coo's) and it's to-die-for.  She often squeals in delight too.
• She loves her one-on-one attention when I just sit and hold her and talk with her.  She talks right back and offers a gazillion smiles too.
• She can totally hold her head up now.

You guys!  She is so darn adorable and sweet.  We absolutely love her to pieces.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day From Two Cuties

These two little cutie pies want to say, "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"  Aren't they the cutest ever!?  We love these two girlies with all that we have!

Adeline at 2 Months Old

Our little Adeline is now two months old!  I might be biased, but I think she is pretty darn beautiful!  She is seriously one of the sweetest little babies.  Her temperament is very easy-going and incredibly sweet and loving.   She adds such a sweet spirit of love to our home.

What is Addie doing now?

• She eats anywhere from 3-6 ounces every 3-4 hours (usually eats 4 ounces, but there are times when she eats less or more).
• She spits up much less than her first month.  I think she's figured out a good pace to eat and does much better.  
• She smiles A LOT when she is awake.  She has such a beautiful smile.  She is a happy, little baby.
• She is still a momma's girl.  She loves for me to be in the room and prefers me to hold her.
• She loves it when Beau comes home from work and will usually greet him with a huge smile.
• Addie LOVES to watch Evie.  She follows her around with her eyes and smiles at her constantly.
• She still loves kisses and loves to be held close.  
• She naps best in the swing and seriously hates the bassinet during the day, but she will sleep great in the bassinet at night. 
• She caught RSV this past month.  So sad!  She wasn't the "nightmare" story you hear about when newborns catch RSV, but it was still awful.  She didn't get hospitalized, but I did take her to the suction clinic twice to have them clean out her sinuses so she could breathe better.  It took her about 10 days to get over it.  It was a LONG 10 days for all of us.  We're SO happy she is healthy now.
• She finally started sleeping a little longer at night.  Just within the past week she started giving me one long stint, usually 5-6 hours, and then it follows with a shorter stint of 3 hours. So, now we feed her twice a night instead of 3-4 times.  It's still exhausting, but it's amazing what one less feeding per night can do for me.
• She started cooing.  Oh, how I love baby coo's!  I can talk to her and she'll coo back.  It's one of my most favorite things at this stage.
• Her head/neck is getting much stronger/steadier.
• She makes great eye contact.  

We took her to her 2-month Dr's appointment and she's growing perfectly.

Weight is 11 lbs, 13 oz. (65.36 %tile)

Length is 22.25" (39.73 %tile)

Head Circumference is in the 83.53 %tile.

She seriously is so perfect and we love her to pieces!  Our family is SO much happier with her in it.

Valentine Love

We love Valentine's Day at our house!  I know there are Valentine Day haters out there, but for me . . . I think it's a great excuse to celebrate LOVE.  Love with my hubby, love with our girls, and love with other people in our lives we care about.

Beau and I officially met 11 (eleven!) years ago on February 13th.  February 13th is our Valentine's Day because it holds so much significance.  We took the opportunity to go out to dinner.  This was really our first date since Addie came home and it was so fun to be with Beau for a couple of hours.  Addie tagged along, but you know . . . she doesn't really say much and she also doesn't run around the restaurant or anything.  Evie spent a couple of fun hours playing with the neighbor kids while we were out.  Man, it's amazing how spending a couple of quality hours with the one I love can seriously recharge my batteries!

The following morning I was surprised with these!

The rest of Valentine's Day was all about the girls.  These two love bugs are loved beyond measure . . . by us and several others!

First off . . . The "Valentine's Man" made a surprise delivery.  He rang the doorbell and ran, but his love was left behind.

The girls got heart-shaped balloons and a toy.  Beau got flavored almonds and jerky.  I got jerky and hair product.  It was exciting and Evie was beyond thrilled!

The girls were also spoiled by three sets of grandparents as well as aunts and uncles.  We also had a couple of neighbors drop off some Valentines.  The doorbell just kept ringing with gifts behind each ring. Beau and I seriously think that this could have been better than Christmas for Evie.  The holiday just kept on giving.  It was so much fun!

We LOVE our little family, our little life, and those in our life that make life sweeter.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Adeline Makes a Family of Four

We've been wishing, hoping and praying for our next child to find her way to our home . . . and, she finally did!

Our little Adeline Joy was born on Tuesday, December 30.  Her birth mom allowed us to be in the delivery room for Addie's birth and we were grateful beyond words.  The experience was AMAZING and her birth mom did the BEST job ever throughout her labor and delivery.  She is a true champ . . . or to us, a real super hero.

Addie came in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19 inches long.  She was born at 4:46pm.

Baby and birth mom stayed incredibly healthy while in the hospital and were discharged after two days.  It was then that Beau and I brought our little Addie home to meet her big sister (hospital rules were that no children under the age of 14 were allowed due to sickness).  Evie was BEYOND excited.  You must know that we had ALL been praying for this beautiful birth mom and baby sister for months in hopes that we would get to bring her home.  So, Evie was WELL aware of her new baby sister.  Each day we came home from the hospital, the first thing she asked us was to see more pics of her baby sister.  So, she was WAY excited to finally meet her in person.  I didn't have enough time to actually get this in focus, but I'm SO glad I have it none-the-less.  You can really see how excited Evie was when we walked through the door with little Adeline (the following is a video . . . if it's not coming up on your phone, you may need to open the blog on a computer).

As you can see, Evie was instantly in love (as we all were).

She couldn't quit saying, "She's SO cute!"
It was adorable.  She was smitten.

And, of course, had to hold her right away!

We are SO happy and overflowing with joy that Adeline is in our family.  She is such a sweet tempered baby and brings another layer of love and light into our home.

We honestly cannot quit holding or kissing her!

I mean, can you blame us?  Just look at this sweet baby!

We cannot express into words how grateful we are for adoption, and especially for the selfless love of birth mothers . . . especially the ones of our two beautiful girls!  They are incredible women and we wouldn't have our sweet, little family without them.  These birth moms are two of our earthly angels that God sent to us, to our family, and to these precious girls.  We are ALL part of each other's plans and we couldn't be more grateful!

Just look at these two girls!  Our hearts just might burst with the love we have for them.  And, we love the way they came to us.  Adoption is a true miracle and we know we are living the miracle with them every day.