Tuesday, January 19, 2010

a HAPPY birthday

I think it's safe to say Willa had a great first birthday.  And Matt and I enjoyed ourselves also.

It started out with pink balloons and lots of attention from mom and dad. 





Then a visit from the ducks and geese in our backyard.  (The lake froze during that cold spell, but it has thawed and the ducks and geese are loving it...diving and quacking and honking a bunch.)

(Matt's grin is a bit cheesy in this one, but I love Willa's face...pure excitement)



Next, we were off to the zoo.  It's been super cold in Memphis but it warmed up nicely for Willa's big day.  It was in the 60's and sunny.  Willa LOVES animals.  The zoo is one of her favorite places.  She squeals and points the whole time we're there.






The plan was to head home for lunch and naps after the zoo, but Willa fell asleep in the car (before we were even out of the parking lot) so naps were out of the question.  Instead, I pushed her on her swing and then she helped me (as much as a 1-year-old can) make her cake.


Presents followed.  Her big gift was a miniature shopping cart and little baskets of plastic fruits and vegetables.  She adores it.  She spent a good hour pushing the shopping cart from one end of the house to the other.  And I just have to add (because I love a good deal), I found the cart for $3.50 at a consignment store and the baskets of fruits and veggies were $1 at the dollar spot at Target.  Big spender, I know! Gotta love it!




We ended our evening with candles, singing, cake and dinner (in that order).  As you can see in the video, Willa didn't eat very much cake.  She just stuck her fingers in it, licked her fingers a little, and threw pieces on the floor.  We weren't surprised.  She seems to prefer salty food (cheese, bread, crackers, etc.) over sweet food. 




She was so hyper and happy during dinner.  She was jabbering away and smiling and laughing.  We love our sweet, little ONE YEAR OLD.  Thank you to everyone that remembered our little one's big day!  What a perfect day!

Monday, January 18, 2010

ONE

Happy Birthday Willa!  We couldn't imagine life without you!

January 2009 - newborn


February - 1 month old


March - 2 months old


April - 3 months old


May - 4 months old


June - 5 months old


July - 6 months old


August - 7 months old


September - 8 months old


October - 9 months old


November - 10 months old


December - 11 months old


January 2010 - ONE YEAR OLD!
(she found the duck page - she loves ducks)


Monday, January 11, 2010

a good day

Nothing special happened.  It was just a typical day, but I couldn't seem to get enough of Willa.  I just wanted to play with her and kiss her and hug her all day.  She just seemed so stinkin' cute.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

boating

While we were in Florida in January, hence the cold weather gear, we spent a day on the ocean with my family.  Ahh, the breezy, salty, ocean air.  Gotta love it.



Willa HATEd her life jacket.  We gave in and let her unzip it.


The guys (Matt, my dad, and my brother-in-law) dropped off the gals on the beach for a bit and they took off to fish.


It actually warmed up a little so we could strip off some of our layers and play in the sand.

Willa loved crawling around and exploring and trying to eat shells.


Happy 7 Years!

We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on December 28, 2009.  Where does the time go?

My mom watched Willa, and we went to dinner at The Crab House in Punta Gorda .  It was our first date (without Willa) since Willa was born.  It was great to be alone for a couple hours, but Willa is such a part of our little family now that it seemed odd to be without her.

Here we are through the years...
2001
Provo (our first photo)


2002
after fishing in the Florida keys (no, we didn't catch those fish)


2003
BYU graduation


2004
ICE in Orlando


2005
chillin' on the beach in Jamaica


2006
hiking to the highest point in Puerto Rico


2007
Toledo Botanical Gardens


2008
The Baths on Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands


2009
Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI


Love you hubbs!