June Joys

June already feels like forever ago, but it was a good month filled with lots of joys.

We spent every Saturday at the soccer field watching this cute kid play soccer. He's becoming quite the little soccer player and loves the sport with a passion. Now he's on to rugby but I'll post about that next month.

His team picture:

This group of cuties came to stay with us for a week.


Bryson and Lilly both loved having four extra friends/cousins around to play and giggle with all day.

Bryson graduated from first grade and earned the "Leader in Me" award.

So proud of this boy.

Here is our reading list for the Summer. We've already read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and are just about finished with Hatchet. Reading together as a family each night is something we all look forward to.

We got to see this fine young man get baptized. Cole is Lilly's half-brother and is such an amazingl kid.

Lilly loved getting to spend time with her Mommy Amber.

Lilly is growing like a weed, but is still such a petite little thing.

If we don't take her pigtails out at night she wakes up with "antenna hair" as we call it. You'll also notice that her pajamas are on inside out in the picture below. That's because she learned how to unzip her jammies, which wasn't such a bad thing until she started taking off her diaper and pooping all over her crib (seriously DISGUSTING!). Fortunately inside out jammies have solved that gag-worthy problem.


We snapped this quick picture of us before heading to church. Even though it doesn't look like it in the picture, Lilly absolutely loves going to Nursery (it took a few weeks) and has some fabulous leaders.

Bryson got to babysit Mike sister's snake for a week, which he thought was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Me?...not so much.

My sister's and I took this handsome man out to dinner for Father's Day. I am seriously so beyond lucky to have been blessed with him as my dad. He's definitely the perfect dad for me.

We ended the month with a fun siblings dinner with all of my siblings & in-laws (minus Ike, Amy & Cali). We decided to start meeting together kid-free once a quarter and talk about business strategies, money management, investing, planning for the future, food storage, couponing, health, nutrition, etc. We rotate who hosts and who's in charge of planning the dinner and topics. We keep minutes and everything and it has really brought our family together and helped us stay more unified as a family.

Favorite quote this week (maybe I should start saying "month" because that's about how often I update this thing...haha):

"Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve a victory over other people, you will conquer yourself."

-Henri Amiel

Life rules.

Lilly's Special Day!

On September 7th Lady Lilly turned one year old! We always do things big around here on the 1st birthday...and 5th, 8th, 12th, 16th & 18th (all the other birthdays we keep really low-key), so she got a really special party this year filled with really special people. Our house was packed with everyone from the Hinckley family, Miller family and birth family that live close enough by to come.

I had a blast decorating and making things look pretty for the party. For dinner we served steak, chicken, shrimp, veggie & fruit kabobs, homemade bread sticks and homemade salsa (recipe here). For dessert we served cupcakes, Oreo pops, and ice cream.

We planned to have the party in the backyard and had all sorts of fun games and activities planned, but as we were getting things set up it started pouring rain, so we had to move the party inside. The men spent the evening down in the man cave watching the BYU game, the women spent the evening participating in the actual party and the kids spent the evening running wild through the house. Kid-sized straight jackets will definitely be on my list of items to buy for the next big party....sheesh!

Mommy Amber gave Lilly the cutest little birthday outfit to wear and she looked adorable! Lilly also got a whole closet full of adorable new clothes, jewelry, books, dolls, and a toy phone.

Lilly sat on Mommy Amber's lap while she looked through the photo book we made for her of Lilly's first year (view it here). We make one to give to each of our birth mom's every year and it was neat to see how touched Amber got by it.

When we put Lilly in her high chair and started singing happy birthday to her, she immediately started crying. She apparently doesn't like that song. She picked daintily at her cupcake a couple of times but then was done and just wanted get back out and play.

It was so wonderful to have Amber and her amazing family there to celebrate Lilly's special day with us. It's all because of Amber that we even have anything to celebrate. She is our angel and we are so incredibly thankful for the precious gift she has given us!

I had to add this video I took of Lilly after the party was all over (she was breaking in her new boots) because it shows Lilly's crazy way of getting to a standing position without using her hands. I just love it! Check it out:

Happy birthday Lilly! We sure love you!

Favorite quote this week:

"Many of the deepest regrets of tomorrow can be prevented by following the Savior today."

 -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Life rules.

11 Months Old

Honestly, how can this little baby of mine already be eleven months? It completely blows my mind! It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital...and now I'm prepping for her first birthday! It's nuts I tell you, NUTS.

We love our little Miss Lilly to pieces! She is getting so big and can finally wear shoes without them falling off! Yay! She has three teeth (two on bottom & one just breaking through on the top) and is really starting to show her personality.

She loves to play on her little toy car and loves to play peek-a-boo. She also loves bath time but hates having her face washed. I love the way she lays her head on my shoulder whenever I hold her. She's a cuddler all right and I can't get enough of it. I also love the way she greets me with a big smile on her face each morning when I walk into her room singing the song I made up just for her.

She is getting into EVERYTHING and I feel like I'm having to constantly tell her "no, no, no!" I think she's just starting to catch on to what "no" means. We've had to childproof our cupboards and we can't leave the dish washer door open or she will pull everything out onto the floor. She loves to pull all of my college books off the bookshelf...especially my anatomy book (for some reason she really likes that one).

She's crawling up the stairs like a champ, can get herself to a standing position without using her hands or hanging onto anything, can stand forever all by herself, and as of just yesterday is WALKING! Woot, woot!  Okay, well maybe it's more like just a few steps, but boy oh boy are we proud of her. Check it out:

 We love ya Lills!

Favorite quote this week:

"To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today."

 -Barbara Johnson 

Life rules. 

First Grade!

This is a conversation that took place the other day:

Me: Hey Bryson, I'd love for you to come to the store with me!

Bryson: Sorry mom, I already have plans.

Me (with very raised eyebrows): Plans? You're only six, what kind of "plans" could you possible have?

He then went on to tell me about all the plans he really did have for the day.

On Friday (we are on year-round now), I sent this little boy full of big plans off to first grade! He is seriously such a good kid and is such a blessing to have in our family. On Thursday we got to meet his new teacher, look around his cute classroom and find his desk. He's been pretty bummed about having to get a new teacher because he LOVED his kindergarten teacher but his new teacher seems really nice and I'm sure he'll end up liking her too.

Here's a full shot of the outfit he chose to wear on his first day.

Our new home is far enough away from the school that he gets to ride the bus now. I never got to ride the bus to school as a kid, but always wanted to, so this whole bus thing is totally new to me and to him.

He was happy to see our cute neighbor Madison in line.

His bus driver is so cute and gave Bryson a high five when he got on.

After school Bryson hopped off the bus with a great big grin on his face. The bus makes three stops on the way home and because this bus thing is new to me, I didn't even think to tell him which stop was ours (ours is the last stop). Luckily he was smart enough to watch when our neighbor Madison got off and then followed her off. I think the big smile he got off the bus with was definitely a smile of relief that he actually made it home. I think he was pretty worried he may not!

I loved listening to him tell me about his day while we went through his backpack. He said that at school another cute neighbor of ours, Kaieva, who is a few years older than him, helped him make friends at recess and helped him get to the right bus line after school. It was so sweet of her to help him like that and I know he sure appreciated it. I love this little boy to pieces and look forward to all of the new adventures that await him in first grade!

Favorite quote this week:

"Behind every great kid, is a mom who's pretty sure she's screwing it up."

So true. Life rules.

10 Months Old

Our little princess is 10 months old! I know, I know... I totally failed to do her 9 month post because we were so incredibly busy with the move and having family in town but just know it would have been just like this one except that she wouldn't have been quite as good yet at all of her new fancy tricks.

We absolutely cannot get enough of this little girl. She always has a smile on her face and is such a content little girl. People are always asking us if she ever cries, because she is honestly just so good all of the time.

Her little chubby cheeks are my absolute favorite thing and I have to admit I have a hard time keeping my lips off them because they are so fun to kiss.

She is totally on the go and has started getting into EVERYTHING! She can get herself to a standing position all by herself (without hanging on to anything) and can stand for a few seconds all on her own. She is climbing stairs like a champ as you'll see in the video below and has just started using her little walker. She is such a joy to have in our family and we honestly could not image our lives without her. We feel beyond blessed to have her in our family.

This is a video we made yesterday of Lilly's newest tricks (walking with the walker and climbing the stairs). You'll totally get a kick out of what Bryson says at the end of the video. I tell you, that boy keeps my in line!


Favorite quote this week:

"You do not find a happy life, you make it!"

Life rules!

8 Months Old

Lilly is 8 months old and has learned a ton of new tricks! She's crawling, pulling herself up to things, clapping, says "ma ma ma," can go from her tummy to a sitting position, and she's cutting her two bottom teeth!

She is always smiling and sticking out her tongue and loves to play with jewelery, shoes, my purse and my phone--I think we're in serious trouble!

She also no longer uses a binky because she chucked it into a bush during one of our morning runs and I could not for the life of me find it (it was the only one we had), so she's all done with that!

In her 9 month post I'll get some video of her doing all of her new tricks but for today, I'll just post this little gem of Lilly's adorable baby giggles.

She is at such a fun age and we love her to pieces!!!

7 Months Old

Oh my goodness, I am behind! Lilly is days away from being 8-months-old, so I thought I had better get her 7 month post up while she's still considered a 7-month-old.  We absolutely cannot get enough of our little princess. Her cheeks, her smile, her chubby thighs, her cute little laugh--all of it! How can you not love that face.

Lilly is now sitting up all on her own and sits like a champ. She has also started to scoot herself around the room using her arms and has started getting into things she shouldn't. She is so eager to explore and grabs anything she can get her hands on. She especially loves to play with paper and with jewelry.

She is a great little eater and loves all of the veggies and fruits we feed her except green beans. They are the only veggie she absolutely refuses to eat. She is at such an adorable age and we love her to pieces!!!

6 Months Old!

I've been so excited for Lilly to hit the 6 month mark because I remember that being my favorite baby stage with Bryson and it has been equally as fun with Lilly. She is such a joy to have in our home. She has the most easy-going demeanor and hardly ever makes a fuss about anything. She had her 6 month well-baby check up the other day and she now weighs 15 pounds 8 ounces and is still at the 50 %tile for head, weight and height. The doctor says if she continues on the 50 %tile curve that she'll probably end up being around 5'8" tall.

She is rolling over both ways and is so close to sitting without support.

She chews on anything she can get her hands on but hasn't sprouted any teeth yet.

She love, love, loves to stand.

She likes to look at herself in the mirror and always gets the biggest smile on her face when she sees herself.

She also loves to be tickled by her daddy.

Mike and I were watching old videos of Bryson the other day and realized we've hardly posted any videos of Lilly on here so far, so I'm going to try to do a better job of capturing and posting precious simple moments like the one below so we can remember and cherish them forever. This is a little moment I caught on video today of Bryson making Lilly giggle. He can make her laugh (& snort) like no one else.

Having these two in our home is truly like tasting a glimpse of Heaven. We love them both so much!