Elai's First Birthday!

Saturday started bright and early for us. Elai decided to start his birthday celebration at 6am. Since I had just about everything ready for his party we sat and read books until about 8am when he decided to go back to bed. We had some of our close friends (with the exception of the Rankins) come over at 1pm for our first bbq of the year, in the snow. It turned out great! Here are some photos from the party.

Elai loved his cupcake. He was very upset when it was all gone.

Everyone was calling him the "HULK" and he almost wore the hulk costume to church on Sunday because the green frosting died his skin.

This is my first cake from scratch. Thanks to Martha Stewart and my friend Karlee, I was able to pull it off.

Elai loves Old McDonald, so in light of that we had an Old McDonald birthday. We decorated with pom poms, animals and Elai's favorite-tractors!

Now that it's over and I have time to breathe I can't believe that my baby is one. Just one year ago I held Elai for the first time. I love being his mom and I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to be a mother.

climbing...

Elai has discovered he can climb on things. Not only that but he can push his toy basket around. So this morning I found this...

Elai pushed his basket over to the piano and climbed on it so that he could reach the keys better. It doesn't stop there, next it was over to the couch. I think I am have an acrobat on my hands.

Family Photos

Here is a sneak peak at a few of our favorite family photos that we just had done for Elai's birthday.

Another First...

Here is Elai enjoying his first ice cream cone. Can you believe his birthday is next Saturday. Where has the time went?

A Day At The Park

A friend of mine is due in two days with her first child. She is trying everything she can think of to make her baby come. So today I thought I would help her out and go on a walk with her. We walked around the park that is right by our house. Elai discovered he likes the swings. He was so excited that he didn't know which way to look; up, down or sideways. I tried repeatedly to get a good picture but he wouldn't pay attention to me so this is as good as it gets.

My gift...

My greatest gift, my hands. As my grandmother last breathes draw closer some of my family members are already fighting over what possessions of hers they get. I was also asked if there is anything that I would like to have. Well after pondering the question a while I have come to realize I have the best gift she could give. When I look down I see my grandmothers hands. So no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing I will always have a piece of her with me.

How?

Can you not love this face?

My picture of the day comes straight from the bathtub, which just happens to be Elai's favorite place in the house.

Going to the Library

My photo of the day was taken at the library.

Elai and I have just started to attend baby story time on Tuesday mornings at the library. I love being able to go and Elai loves picking out new books to bring home. But today we discovered all the animal pillows. Elai was having a blast playing with them. Who said you can't have fun without spending any money? Actually it is all the free things that we find to do that Elai ends up enjoying the most.

It's catch up time

After being gone for two weeks and coming home to a husband who has the flu, a sick baby and then me getting the flu I have gotten a bit behind on things. So today will be a busy day of catch up. But before I get started I wanted to share my photo of the day.

Elai still isn't too sure if he likes his sun glasses or not.

First Hair Cut!

We are busy planning Elai's first birthday party here. It has been so much fun and I'm looking forward to it. Thanks to Martha Stewart's ideas it should be a success! On Friday we took care of a very important thing on our birthday to do list. Elai got his hair cut! He did great. It was so cute. He was fascinated with the water bottle and the combs. Here are a few photos.

And here is the after shot with Elai's books all over the floor in the background! Now that the hair cut is done we can go get his pictures. Of course we will have a cute Mohawk for them!

Fruit Tart

I was walking through Fred Meyer the other day and noticed a beautiful fruit tart in the bakery case. It made me think that a fruit tart would be the perfect summer desert, you don't have to stand over the stove or use the oven on a hot summer day. So I bought some different berries and kiwis and ran home to find a recipe. It was a success. I will definitely be adding fruit tarts to our summer menu. And just look how pretty they are!

Best Dinner Ever

I love pasta, I really do. I could eat it every day of the week. However because of the carbs I do try and limit myself. A few days ago while at my moms house I came across a recipe for stuffed meatballs. Since I don't like meat in my spaghetti but Zech has to have it in his I decided to make some of these meatballs. They were wonderful! Sausage stuffed with bite size mozzarella cheese! YUM! I definitely recommend trying them and the best part is that they are super easy to make. These meatballs paired with spaghetti noodles, asparagus and salad make the best dinner ever!



Meatballs:
1lbs sausage (yields six meatballs)
2 bite size mozzarella balls quartered
olive oil for sprinkling on top

Wrap the sausage around the cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Roller Skating!

A few weeks ago Zechary went to Salt Lake for a wedding and I decided I didn't really want to go. So instead my friend Anjillee and I had a girls night. We ended up going roller skating. I hadn't been in years. It was so fun. Elai really loved it even though he was very tired. Here are a few pictures.

I tried to get Elai to go to bed but he just kept peeking out of the blanket.

Excitment

Yesterday Elai decided it was time to walk! He has taken up to six steps at a time. This brings me both happiness and sadness. I'm looking forward to the warm weather and walking half a block so Elai can go play at the park. However I am very sad also. When did my baby boy grow up so fast? He is only 10 months old, I'm not ready for him to walk yet. Soon he will be bathing and clothing himself. Well my camera is still not working correctly so I couldn't get a video of him walking but here are a few pictures I took!

My Crafts....

So last week I started a blog to show everyone what I have been up too... I would love it if you would all check it out and follow along.

mydailycrafts.blogspot.com

It is still a work in progress so please be patient as I get it up and running. If you have any ideas you would like me to post I would be more then happy to do so (THIS MEANS YOU BRYTON!).

I've Got Mail!

Everyday at about 10 am I have a wave of excitement run through me as I can hear the mail man outside our door. I don't know what it is about going to collect the mail that makes me so happy. I'm always excited to see what the mail man has in store for my day. As most of you know, I love shopping online. I always find such great deals. So as I wait for my packages my heart feels with so much excitement that I just about go crazy. It amazes me how something as simple as checking my mail everyday can bring so much joy to my life.

Two Years Ago...

Two years ago today I made a decision that would forever change my life. I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I had no idea what my heavenly father had in store for me, the only thing I was certain of was that he loved me and would guide me to where I needed to be. Now two years later I look back at all the great things in my life. I have a wonderful husband, an adorable little boy, great friends and family and a father in heaven who watches out for me. I know that without the gospel in my life I wouldn't have these things. I'm thankful everyday for the prayer my grandmother said with me over the phone over two years ago. The prayer that changed my life and started me out on a search for the truth. I'm thankful for a wonderful women who wouldn't take me saying no to going to church for an answer. And most especially I'm thankful for a recently returned missionary taking the time to share the things which mean so much to him and that he didn't give up on me. Now looking forward I'm excited to be able to share the gospel with my friends and family. For I know one day I will be sealed to my parents and we will live as an eternal family.

Our News...

Since my sister already spilled the beans on her blog I suppose I will announce it on here. We found out today we are going to have another baby! July 23rd is the due date! Yay!

Hats...

Elai's new favorite thing this week is hats. He loves taking them off people's heads to place them on his own. However he only likes other peoples hats. He won't leave his own on for more then a minute.

He gets really upset when you try and take them away!

Elai's First Sledding Trip!

For FHE on Monday we thought we would try putting Elai in his snowsuit for the first time.

Though to big, I do think he looks pretty cute.

He had a great time going down the hill with dad!

And he espeically loved the snow!

Lots to to..

Watches to make

Cookies to Bake

Presents to Wrap

Dinners to plan

Bathroom to Clean

But instead I'm playing with my baby and singing Christmas songs.

Two Teeth and Counting!

Yesterday I woke up to find two teeth in Elai's mouth. This was such an excitement for me. I have been waiting weeks for his two bottom teeth to actually come through. Over the last week Elai has decided that he no longer likes baby food but prefers to have big people food. We have discovered his favorite is biscuits. Here are a couple of pictures of him enjoying one!

Yesterday I walked out of the bedroom to find this...

Elai had figured out how to climb in the toys basket. He loved it in there. In fact when I took him out he was not happy at all!

I'm sitting here watching my little boy pull himself up to stand. I watch him grow and learn new things everyday and wonder how in the world did heavenly father know that we needed 10 little toes in order to have perfect balance. How did he know that without a tongue we wouldn't be able to taste. The body really does amaze me. It is such a wonderful peace of art. But as I sit here watching my little boy grow up I'm thankful for a health little boy. I'm thankful that he has two legs to stand. I'm thankful that he has to eyes to see and that he can crawl to his mom. I'm thankful that my heavenly father gave me the experience of motherhood and the joy that comes with it.

Elai's first Halloween!

Elai's first Halloween was great! He was the cutest pirate ever, if I do say so myself. Zech had to work a half day so we decided to surprise him in costume. The nursing home residents loved seeing Elai and we came home with a huge bag of candy. We kept telling them Elai was to young but then insisted so Zech gladly accepted the candy! Here are a few photos.

And More!

Here are a few more of Elai's six month pictures~!~

Better late then never!

Here are a few of Elai's six month pictures! He is getting so big, it just amazes me. He is sitting up by himself, crawling, and holding his own bottle. He would rather play with his toys then have me hold him, which breaks my heart! I hope you enjoy!