they know...

I realized just how amazing it is to me that Evelyn at 11 months old pointed to a picture of the Savior and said "Jesh." Not that it's uncommon or that I think she's unusually intelligent, but ...well, she knows who He is. For a few months every diaper change was a wrestling match unless I could get her to look at a picture of Christ, that now has a place in her view on the dresser. When she was 6 weeks old the first non-talking thing that she smiled at was a picture of the Savior. Anyone who has a bit of experience with babies can tell you a dozen or more instances like this. It's something that makes me pause and wonder what we would all be aspiring to if we really realized, as infants do, who the Savior is and who we are to Him. I suppose that's just part of what makes a baby be a baby.

the "cows"

Down the street from my parents house is a field owned by some wonderful older members of their ward. They regularly keep a couple a steers for butchering, which most of the children in the neighborhood refer to as the "cows". When my sisters kids were younger we would often go on walks to see the cows and sometimes bring old lettuce or fruit to try to feed them. I had never done this with Evelyn, so one day in June during the 3 weeks that Ryan was up working at Roosevelt Dam, we passed a few minutes of time taking a walk to see the "cows." While we were there Evelyn said "Moo" very clearly for the first time. On the way back it even sprinkled a little, which felt great! It was just one of those little things I will always remember.

finallly!

Yes, I am finally posting pictures of our completed fence and backyard gate. Ryan started this project last June and just put the finishing touches on the gate a few weeks ago. The fence between our house and our neighbor to the West was in pretty bad shape, and part of it had kind of sunk from the yard getting completely saturated from a broken sprinkler. As a birthday present Ryan's dad gave his time and skill, and a whole lot of metal, to help us enclose the yard with a gate. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here are progressive pictures of this project that we are very happy to have complete.

Happy Birthday Evelyn Lee!

Here are the birthday pictures!




You'll need to copy and paste the address to see the slide show since I'm not very blog savvy. Hope you enjoy all the crazy photos!

http://www.slide.com/r/6KhHlmop1z9KiU1UaNnsS32PZg9p7XPt?map=2&cy=un

Since Ryan was working and staying at Roosevelt Dam for the week we drove up and spent the night to enjoy her big day with just each other. We had a great time on Saturday when all the family and a few friends came over for a backyard party too. Thanks sooo much to my sister-in-law Heather for the most awesome cupcakes and my friend Kelsey for the adorable cake! Here are a few of my favorite pictures and a few videos.

1 year old! then and now

last year at this time...

now...


last year...

now...

then...

now...

We can hardly believe our little baby has blessed our lives for a whole year now. It has been the most wonderful year of our lives and we know it will just keep getting better.
Happy Birthday to our sweet Evelyn! (birthday pictures to come)

hives...?

So last Saturday I was about to leave to get my hair cut about 11:30 when I noticed what looked like a few bug bites on Evelyn's left cheek. I thought it was odd since I had just changed her diaper not 5 minutes before and there was nothing there. I had been holding her since then and seen no insects. When we got to my sister-in-law's house her cheek was completely red and swollen. I immediately thought Benedryl,ran to the store, bought some gel and generously put some on. Within 15minutes her face was almost back to normal. I watched for breathing problems, which she had none of thankfully. A couple hours later her right cheek looked the same so on went the Benadryl.


She broke out later that day on her arms, legs and tummy, then again on Sunday night. She had a few pop up on Monday too, but that was the last of it. She never seemed very bothered by it. I had an almost immediate and really painful outbreak of hives when I was 16 after my wisdom teeth came out from Penicillin. The only new thing that Evelyn had that may have caused it is Amoxicillin. She had her first ear infection a couple weeks ago but finished the meds 4 days before she got hives. That's the only culprit I can think of though. Any one else have hives experiences you would like to share?


Later Saturday evening... ...much better!

1st Easter and 1st Mother's Day

Since Evelyn isn't really able to get the whole egg hunting concept yet we skipped giving her a basket. She had fun playing guess which hand the egg is in and watching her cousins hunt for them. I made a dress for her, the first one I've ever made! It turned out to be a bit snug, but that's what happens when you measure and cut out the fabric a month before a baby wears the clothing. I think it turned out well for only using an online tutorial. The fabric was some my mom had bought years ago, so I'm glad it was used for my sweet little girl. I also made a jumper for Bethany and am working on skirts for myself and my sister. Hopefully we can take a group picture before Evelyn outgrows hers.


My fist Mother's Day was a very sweet one. Ryan made breakfast and gave me a perfect card and a gift. Evelyn gave me a day full of smiles, laughter, 'ah ha' moments and fun. It feels like I have all ready learned more in the short time I have been a mom than I had learned through my whole life up to that day. My whole consciousness of work, patience, worry, fatigue, and love have changed in more ways than I can count, and I am certainly more grateful for my own mom and all the mothers in my life. After hearing some news commentator criticizing the existence of a day to honor mothers I had the thought that if everyone celebrated and appreciated their mom's the same way we often celebrate birthdays this world would be a lot better place.

I am so blessed to have the smiles, laughter, 'ah ha' moments and fun of our sweet baby each day, and to know that she is ours eternally . There is nothing greater in the world.