halloween '11

This year for Halloween Lucy and Lylah were Lady Bugs (or as Lucy called it- 'waga-wagas'). They looked so dang cute.

This was the first holiday that Lucy remembered from last year. It was so cute, and helped her get so SO excited! We spent Halloween visiting my Grandma Stout, going Trunk-or-Treating with my parents and then Trick-or-Treating with cousins Ellie and Tommy. It was such a blast!

Lucy, Great-Grandma Stout, Lylah:

The little chunky monkey:

Just eatin'.

Lylah...

Sad baby

Lucy can always get Lylah to stop crying. They adore each other.

Aww, the little Waga-Waga's!

I just think she's the prettiest little thing!

Grandma, Lylah, Ellie and Lucy

Two girls.

Tommy, Ellie, Lucy and Lylah

tub-tub time!

These two love the tub. I was hoping for a great shot that I could make into a canvas for one of our bathrooms. None of them were quite right for that, but I still got some awfully cute shots!

The Chubs:

and Toosy:

Oh man, I have the cutest kids.

On a side note, in September we got a new niece! Little Oakley Rae was born to Justin and Jessica out in Monterey, CA. We still haven't met her yet, but we can't wait to in December!

Isn't she cute?

Moving!

We are finally into our new house and trying to get settled. We love it here!

Here is a little bit about our old place:

And finally, moving day! When we started looking at houses in August, we decided to look at short sales. Such great deals, plus we still had a contract for the condo until February.

Well, when we found our house, it just felt right. We put an offer on it the day we saw it, and then decided we better try to sell our contract. I was afraid that would be hard. Turns out it was super easy. I had 14 calls in the first 2 hours. Yikes! But the best part was, my aunt and uncle (who were also waiting on a short sale) had some issues with their landlord so they were able to take our contract! It worked out perfectly for both of us! We moved out the beginning of September into my parent's house, and started the waiting game. :) Stay tuned! Pictures of our beautiful new home to come!

6 months!

My baby turned 6 months old on September 21! I can't believe how fast time has gone by. Our lives have been so blessed by this sweet little girl.

Lylah's 6-month stats:

Weight: 15.3 lbs (36 %)

Height: 24.5 in. (12%)

Head: 16.75 in. (54%)

Some fun things about Miss Lylah:

-She is the biggest daddy's girl. She just wants daddy to hold her all the time when he's around.

-She can sit, and she thinks she's awesome.

-She adores her big sister.

-Nothing is cuter or more exciting than seeing that baby in the mirror.

-She loves to see how loud she can shriek. Just for fun.

-She only kisses when she's in the mood. But when she is in the mood, she attacks fiercely!

-She's a super happy camper and is always cheerful.

-She'll laugh for Lucy any time.

baptism

Last year when Mark moved out for school he got assigned to be roommates with this awesome guy from India named Amol. Since then, Amol has become our 'Indian brother' and we're his 'Utah family'. He spent Christmas with us last year and comes over often for Sunday dinner. We've become so close to Amol.

After school started this semester, Mark opened the door to two missionaries. Apparently Amol had decided to start taking the discussions! We were so excited when he decided to get baptized. He asked Mark to baptize him.

It was such a special evening. Lucy talked for weeks after about "Amol getting baptized". Thanks for letting us share that special experience with you Amol! We love you!

the terrible twos...

When Lucy went to the doctor's for her 2 year old check up the doctor told me he didn't know why they called it "the terrible twos". In his experience, two year olds were charming and a joy. After we left my mom and I were laughing about it. Apparently he's never been the mom of two year olds. :) Two year olds are so fun, but that rotten little independent streak is in full force at our house.

We're loving having a two year old. Most of the time.

Petting Zoo

We went to the petting zoo the end of August. I'm just getting around to blogging about it.

We went with Kendra, Ellie and Tommy and had a great time!

Here are the girls when we arrived:

The 4 kiddies:

Lucy and Ellie LOVED the animals. Lylah and Tommy were indifferent, but enjoyed being out:

Ellie's so crazy! While we were looking at the goats she took off and we couldn't find her anywhere. We were panicked! All of a sudden I looked over and saw her ON A HORSE! She had run over to the pony ride and crawled in under the fence. They didn't know what she was doing, so they just stuck her on. She looked terrified. Silly girl.

Cabin!

Months ago my family planned a family reunion at my cousin's cabin for the middle of August. But when my Grandpa passed away on Aug. 6th, we weren't sure what was going on. After talking about it, we decided to go ahead with it. I'm so glad we did! We seriously need to relax and recuperate after all the stress from the weeks before. So just a week and a half later we all headed down to this cabin. It was such a blast!

The day after we arrived was my dad's birthday.

My dad said I should get an "action shot". Here it is: :)

Dad and Ken (who made breakfast):

Bahaha, we do exist...

We were horrified that the mom was using Pepsi (caffeine free, but still....) for her Cafe Rio:

Going on a little hike...

This was so cool! It was a web made out of twine tied into tiny knots. It was way up off the ground, and so awesome! The pictures don't really do it justice...

Lucy and Daddy

Lylah. She couldn't be cuter.
Tim, Lanae and Luke. Love this shot.
Every once in a while Lucy just needs to kiss her baby.
Taking turns climbing the web.

Uncle Davey.
Chelts. Having a rest.
After lunch everyone just relaxed.
My cute girls:




The boys all had a pool tournament.

It came down to my dad and Preston. Pretty intense. Preston rocks at pool.


Then we had dinner and everyone got ready for the talent show.

Tim, Davey and Luke practicing their song.
The pool tournament winners. :)
My talent was taking a picture of everyone. Shocking. :)
Amber showed off some of her work from her art portfolio. I'm telling you, she is beyond talented.
Mark sang a song and played the guitar.



My little shadow walked around with my phone taking pictures of everyone. :)
John, Mark and the other boys did the funniest play I've ever seen. I'm going to try to get the video and put it on here. It's amazingly awesome.

Tim, Luke, Davey.

And at the end we sang happy birthday to my dad.

(Just one of the many times Lucy sang it to my dad during the day)

It was so fun and we really missed the family members who weren't able to come. Hopefully everyone can make it next year!