Jamey's Birthday.....Part 1

Well, Jamey's birthday was actually on April 19th, and I am not quite up-to-date with my blogging lately. I can't even finish one thing at a time and it is in parts too! I have been spending a lot of time working on PunkieGrace, my hair bows and accessories and I hope to get the website up soon and a full post explaining what I have been working on. It sure helps knowing someone so smart and talented to do my designing and website ;) THANKS SO MUCH JAMEY!!

Jamey had a great birthday and we spent time celebrating with all of our extended families. On Saturday, April 18th, we went to Darby to see Jamey's family. Jamey's Grandma Coulter, aunt Dawn and cousin Gavan were in town and it was great to see them. Dawn has a blog also, and she was much faster than me at posting her pictures from this weekend! Gavan is about 4 1/2 months younger than Adalyn and two weeks older than Brenna so it is really cute to see them all together. Gavan is walking quite well already and Brenna is also walking so trying to get three little ones together for a picture was kind of a challenge...but we managed to get them all into the wagon! I have also become *slightly* obsessed with making cute Scrapblogs. I hope to keep more up-to-date and make them to compile as a scrapbook someday.

I love this one!


Jen found this bouncer at a consignment sale. I think Brenna was the only one who liked it...well, I had fun in it too ;)


Adalyn helping Jamey open his cards and gifts


Cake!


Dawn, Gavan, Jen, Brenna, Jamey and Adalyn


The group with Grandma Coulter. We realized later that Jamey's mom Coral should have been in the picture to have a 3- and 4-generation photo but we were worried about getting the pictures fast before the little ones got too squirmy...next time we'll have to get it!

Self-portrait

My self-portrait, by way of my adorable medium :)

Wordless Wednesday

Easter Celebrations....Part 2

Finally the rest of our Easter....
We woke up on Easter morning and Adalyn found her baskets and eggs in our house. After we got ready, we drove to Jamey's grandparent's house for Easter brunch, egg hunting and visiting. Adalyn loved looking for eggs outside. She was running around with her arms outstretched with a huge grin on her face. Adalyn and Brenna wore adorable matching dresses Jamey's mom Coral made for them.

Adalyn hunting for eggs

(Click on the collages to see the pictures larger)

More pictures, we had a beautiful background and a beautiful day


Later in the day, we went to the Beree's house to enjoy a delicious Easter dinner with my mom, step-dad, sister Dana and her boyfriend Justin. Before we ate, Adalyn looked for more eggs and baskets. She was a pro and definitely fast at spotting them. After enjoying our dinner, us "older kids" looked for hidden eggs with candy and money prizes. We had a blast racing around looking for eggs.



I am so thankful for such a beautiful Easter day. I have always loved Easter and the religious meaning and the start of springtime but this year was so special to me to see Adalyn find the joy and excitement in the holiday.

Easter Celebrations....Part 1

We had a wonderful, busy Easter! I have been sorting through the many pictures we took this weekend and will have to do a two-part post because we have so many!
On Friday, Adalyn and I visited my grandma with my dad and sister Dana. The weather was great and we were able to visit outside.
Here are some of the pictures we took. Adalyn was definitely on the move and didn't want to hold still very long for a picture but we had a very nice time visiting.



On Saturday, we took Adalyn to the Easter egg hunt at the University of Montana. It is quite a large egg "hunt." The kids are grouped into age categories and just run out and grab the eggs and candy off the grass. It started as the big clock tower struck one o'clock and the hands had barely moved by the time all the goodies had been grabbed. Adalyn got two eggs and some candy. The eggs had tickets for prizes and she was thrilled to get a sand pail and pink ball. Her age group was 0-2 but many parents were doing most of the grabbing. We mostly let her pick up things but we made sure she got at least the two eggs before someone tried snatching them from right in front of us. Before the hunt, Adalyn met the Easter bunny and was just grinning as she touched him. Then, she got to meet the UM mascot Monte and she really liked him too. She just loves stuffed animals and mascots right now! I wonder if this will continue when she's a little older but it is sure cute how she adores them.




After Adalyn had a long nap, we went to the mall to see the Easter bunny there. We didn't plan on getting a picture as we weren't sure if she would want to sit on his lap, but we went to at least wave to him. Well, we should have known she would love him as she loved seeing "him" and Monte earlier. She was waving and grinning so we waited until the line went down and tried for a picture. It could not have gone better! She absolutely loved walking up to him and sitting on his lap and she was just grinning and clapping the whole time. She was smiling in every picture they took-- quite a different scenario than most of the other kids we watched. The photographer said she was the happiest kid they had seen all day! She didn't want to leave either :)



We played while we waited for our bunny picture



Then, we went home and colored some eggs. Well, Jamey and I colored eggs and Adalyn mostly watched the colors fizz because she cracked the first egg she got to hold :)



That was a long, fun day! We got some rest before Easter Day....working on those pictures next!

Easter....Here we come!

Click on image to see enlarged view of our little bunny egg hunter :)

14 months

So Big!
Little miss Adalyn is 14 months old already. Some of her favorite things right now are to dance, dance, dance! She has a few different moves and starts twirling or bouncing as soon as music comes on. She even turns her musical toys on just so she can start dancing to the tunes.

Another new thing she expanded on is her signing. I didn't teach her the sign for "want" but she has figured out that she can sign "more" to indicate she wants something. Now she is signing it all the time and pointing at things she can't reach. She also brings us her empty snack bowl or cup and signs that she wants more. As nice as it is that she can communicate some of her wants and needs, she is sure keeping us busy with this new signing!



She is also quite the chatterbox. She had been "saying" a lot of things for a few months but now we are recognizing a lot more real words now. Animal sounds are still her favorite though. The newest is a squirrel sound, which she loves making as we often see them through our windows.


















She continues to love books and will bring them to us to read throughout the day. Then she looks through them herself and flips back to her favorite pages. Other favorite things right now are to "reorganize" the house. She has been carrying all of her shoes from her bedroom into the living room and lining them up on the couch and moving her toys into groups. I have found a pair of zebras sitting on a kitchen chair and a group of orange blocks on the entertainment center. I never know what I'll find next! It is just so amazing to see how a little mind develops and learns!





Adalyn is modeling the tutu and hair bow I made in these pictures....relating to the new project! More info and pictures soon...