Some of Alyvia's two year pictures!

This was one of my favorites, but I didn't end

up buying any of them! I need to reorder. It's hard not

to love them all.

Alyvia enjoying her birthday goods!

I would say Alyvia got pretty spoiled for her birthday! She got two sets of leap frog fridge magnets (the farm animals and the alphabet) from both Grandmas and Grandpas, a new wagon, a xylophone, microphone and a tent set that Brady and I scored at the Grocery Outlet! It came with a backpack, tent, flashlight, water bottle, headband, and a sleeping bag all for $9.99. Hurry, they may still have some left.

There's a monkey here who had a birthday!!

It's pretty hard for us to believe that our tiny baby is now 2. Time goes by way too fast. We had such a fun day. First I took her to Zurchers and got her a monkey balloon, which is a little bit scary, but she likes it. Then we went to hop 2 it with cousins and friends. Then following a three hour nap Brady and I took her to dinner at Arctic Circle where she could play on some more toys. ( I thought we might as well wear her out as best we could) That night we had such a fun party with Grandmas, Grandpas, cousins and friends. So our house was full of monkeys (literally). Thanks to Martha Stewart and my sister Anna, I was able to pull off a monkey cake! It even tasted decent (considering it came from a box). Alyvia starting saying "Happy to me, happy to me." I think she had a ball today, and I hope she knows how special she is to us.

I got a good idea from the family fun magazine (the greatest by the way) that I started doing just this January. You write a letter to each of your kids telling them what they've been up to, the funny things they do, how much they mean to you, etc. Then you could include a picture and whatever else you can neatly fit in an envelope, then you mail it to your kids. When it comes back in the mail you find a special place to keep them. Then on their 21st birthday you give them a box of sealed, postmarked letters from you for them to go through and read. I thought this was a pretty special idea, that would be very easy to do and would mean a lot to them later. Thought I would pass that idea along. http://www.familyfunmagazine.com/

Check this out!

I found Alyvia's whole hand print on the couch! Funny huh? This goes to show that she leaves her mark wherever she goes.

How does Christmas come and go so fast?!!!!

Our holidays were crazy yet fun. They were filled with lots of time with family! Brady had both of his siblings home with their little families from out of state. It was so fun to let the kids play and get to know each other again. Alyvia had a ball dancing and playing with her cousins Parker, Mason, and new baby Talmage. I think she would have carried little Talmage off if we'd let her.

My sister also had her kids act out the Nativity on Christmas Eve, so Alyvia got a key role in that as the angel. Kenadee was Mary, Halle was a sheep, little Carson was a very cute star, and Grandpa got to be the narrator with his cute reading glasses. It was all so special. Thank you to all of our families for making this Christmas so wonderful. We love you all.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone! It's so crazy how fast the year went by. We hope you're all doing well and enjoying the wheather wherever you are. We're loving ours! Ya gotta love the snow!Brady took this picture after decorating Alyvia's bed with some extra lights that we had. She thought is was so neat. I think back at all of the magical things that happened to me as a kid during Christmas, and I hope Brady and I are able to make Christmas in our home a Christ centered magical time! We wish you all a great Holiday Season and enjoy the magic of Christmas.

Happy Way Late Halloween Everyone!!!

I knew when I started a blog that the updating would be a challenge, but better late than never right? We hope you all had a great trick-or-treating experience. Ours consisted of going out for pizza, and giving Alyvia her very own bite sized candy bar. (We're such nice parents) Alyvia was our little Boise Bronco Fan!! Go Broncos!!!!!