It's Another Birthday!

My birthday came around again and we had fun celebrating.  Before the date of my actual birthday both my parents and Beau's parents took me out to dinner (on separate nights, of course).

Goodwood with my parents.
(Addie was there . . . just out of the picture sitting in her car seat.)

Magelby's with Beau's parents.

I love the excuse to make dinner plans and I'm super grateful to both sets of parents for their love, for spoiling me with a paid dinner, and making the time for me.

The day of my actual birthday was spent with my little family.  Beau had to work during the day so I chose to take the girls to a picnic in the park.  I had a friend offer to watch my girls so I could go shopping or something, but my girls are my best friends and I wanted to be with them on my birthday.

Best picture I could grab with the self timer.  :)

After naps, Beau had made his way home from work (earlier than usual) and he brought a babysitter with him so he could take me out to dinner.  Super thoughtful, right!?  With kids there is usually a snag and this particular night there were two (one for each kid).  Addie would not stay with the sitter.  She cried and cried.  As soon as I would take her back, she was totally fine.  So, instead of torturing the sitter and Addie (and truthfully myself as I would have worried the whole time I was away) we let Addie come along.  The second snag was with Evie.  She hadn't been feeling very well (she had been fevering) and she didn't want mom and dad to leave either.  I gave her some medicine and food to see if that would temper her a little and it did.  Her fever came down a little and she was ready to play.

HORRIBLE quality (dang iPhone), but we had fun.

While we were away Evie was spoiled and our sitter bought her a "blue ice cream" as she likes to call it (really it's a shave ice).  She was thrilled!

When I got home we opened presents.  Beau was SUPER great with the gifts this go-around.  They were all things I wanted.

Evie REALLY wanted to get me birthday balloons.

I got the 48-cup muffin tin I wanted and a book on my list.

I also got a big flat screen TV.  We brought it in the house a couple days later.

So . . . I survived another year.  I was pounded with loving texts, cards, and messages during the day from people who love me and thought about me.  I am grateful for all of the people in my life and feel so blessed in so many ways.

April Snowman

Evie has never built a snowman.  Last year she was still just a little too small to make one and this year we really hadn't had any good snow . . . until today!  When the snow came down and it was wet, packable snow I knew today was the day Evie would build her first snowman.  She was SO excited to play in the snow.  We hurried to get our snow gear on and we headed outside (all while Addie was napping).

Here she goes!  I would start her snowball for her
and she would push until she couldn't push anymore.

This was the our finished product.  Our snowman got a hat,
a scarf, and its very own carrot nose.  Evie had to have her own carrot too.

Evie was so happy with her snowman.
She named him Olaf (big surprise!).

I gotta be honest . . . playing in the snow is not one of my favorite things.  However, it is A LOT more fun with little children . . . especially mine.  Evie is definitely worth "suiting up" for when it comes to snowy weather.  We had a blast together!

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.