#1 Birthday Party!

August 14, Lexie turned 1 year old! She went to the Dr. a few days later and here are her 1 Year Stats:

Weight: 20 lbs 6 oz (38%)

Height: 30 1/2 in (89%)

Head 18 1/4 in (84%)

So she's still tall and skinny, very cute, and extremely healthy. The Dr. was impressed by her vocabulary thus far, especially being able to put more than one word together like her favorite phrase "all done" which she demonstrated more than once at the Dr. office.

For her birthday we decided to go to my parent's house for the party to make it easier on them, and we were headed to the Grand Canyon the next day and leaving Lexie there so it worked out perfect. Lexie had a great birthday! We had a fun party with Grandma & Grandpa Hoyt, some of her aunts and uncles, and Great Grandpa and Grandma Mickelson also came over for the big event. We ate pizza and visited, sang happy birthday, ate cake and ice cream, watched a video of pictures and videos of Lexie's first year, and opened presents. The theme kind of turned into "Winnie the Pooh" with him on the cake, the birthday girl outfit, and she got a stuffed Pooh Bear.

Here are many photos from the big birthday bash:

Lexie with her cake and Pooh Bear.

With Mom and Dad & Trying to play guitar hero with Pooh.

The cake. Not great, but a good first attempt for me I suppose.

Eating the cake...dainty at first then getting messy.

Video taken at the party of the singing, eating of the cake and you can hear her say her favorite saying "all done", then watch her dance as she watches her 1 year memory video.

Opening presents!

Playing with her new toys with her Aunt Jennifer.

I can't believe my baby is now a year old! She is such a fun kid to have around and I look forward to watching her continue to grow in years to come. After all the work I put into her birthday and party I'm glad it all went ok and everyone seemed to have fun, including the birthday girl! I'm glad we have pictures and video for her to remember the big day - her #1 Birthday!

Anniversary Trip to the Grand Canyon

On August 11 we celebrated our 3rd Anniversary! The 11th was on Tuesday and we went to lunch at Pizza Factory (YUM!) and rented a movie that night so nothing huge, but we had plans that weekend for a small trip. Saturday we left Lexie with Grandma & Grandpa Hoyt and family for our first night away from Lexie since she was born a year ago. I was a bit nervous, but she did great and even slept about 11 hours that night...something she rarely does for us at home! We headed to the Grand Canyon since it was free fee weekend for the national parks. Bryan couldn't remember ever going there and I haven't been in something like 12 years so it was fun to go back. Here are a few pictures from our day at Grand Canyon (North Rim).

Enjoying the views

More scenery. You can see the smoke of a big fire blazing in the park.

After enjoying the views and hiking for a couple hours, we headed back to Kanab and had a delicious dinner at Houston's topped off with a famous (and huge) piece of coconut-cream pie. We were stuffed but it was worth it! We then camped out that night at my Grandparents' ranch in their trailor. We had a really fun trip and thank my parents for watching Lexie for us! Three years down...eternity to go!

Happy Birthday Lexie!

One year ago today, our precious Lexie arrived and changed our lives completely. She was such a gorgeous baby from the moment she was born. I was so excited and couldn't get enough of my sweet girl!

Today Lexie turns 1 year old! She is still a beautiful baby, but she's not so much a baby anymore and is growing up so fast! Next week I will post about her birthday party and her stats after going to the Dr., but I just wanted to say how much joy this little girl has brought to us this past year. Being a mom has been the greatest thing I have ever done in my life, and being able to watch Lexie grow and learn new things every day is such a joy! Last night she really started saying "Mama" and hearing her say that makes me happier than just about anything! We love you Lexie...Happy Birthday!

The week Lexie turned 11 months she started walking. At first just a few steps here and there, and then she just kind of took off. This video is from a couple weeks ago. I had a hard time getting a video because she wouldn't walk when I got the camera out. Well, the past couple days she pretty much runs everywhere. She doesn't even crawl much anymore because she enjoyes trying out her new walking skills.

11 Months, Teddy & Tuacahn

Last week Lexie turned 11 months old! She is growing up so fast and we can't believe her 1st birthday is very soon! At 11 months Lexie makes us laugh all of the time and has the sweetest personality. She is almost walking and can take several steps unassisted; she runs around the house holding onto her litte car, the couch, walls, kitchen chairs, and just about anything else. She loves playing with her toys, reading books, singing songs, and most of all dancing to all kinds of music. Her favorite words to say right now are "all done" (whenever she is done eating, getting a diaper change, or even when feels she is done in the car or with anything else), "Dad" or "Daddy" (of course for her Dad), "Jesus" (as she points to pictures of Him in the house), "Teddy" (you can get that story below), "Baba" for bottle, "RooRoo" (the sound a dog makes), that's all I can think of right now; sadly she isn't into saying "Mom" yet but she does know who I am and I always get lots of hugs from my baby girl which just melts my heart! She's so much fun! We took a few pictures the other day and the only place she would sit still was in her little toy chair and standing next to a chair.

Lexie has really been into stuffed animals lately. The day she turned 11 months we went to St. George and found this cute teddy bear that was on a really good sale. Lexie fell in love with the bear and she calls him "Teddy" and must go to bed with him and have him to ride in the car. This is her first object that she's become attached to.

As you can see in these pictures, Lexie loves Teddy.

The same day we bought Teddy, we went to see "Footloose" at Tuacahn with my mom, 2 of my sisters, and my aunt Sylvia (it was her birthday). Annie watched Lexie and they had tons of fun.

Here we are at Tuacahn.

This is the birthday girl Sylvia with the main actors,

Thayne Jasperson and Kyli Rae.

They did an awesome job! I enjoyed watching Thayne because I love the show "So You Think You Can Dance", and Thayne was on last season so it was fun seeing him in person because he is an awesome dancer and I had no idea he could sing that good. Thanks Annie for the tickets and for tending so we could see the play!

Birthday & 4th of July

July 1st I celebrated my birthday. I was still recovering from being sick so I didn't really feel up to doing much. Bryan and Lexie had been sick a couple of days before me then I picked it up, but luckily it was only a 24-48 hour bug and we all mended quickly. All we ended up doing that evening was getting dinner from Bruno's, eating ice cream, and watching a movie. Bryan bought me some jeans at Old Navy a few weeks before my birthday but he wanted to get a shirt also so we went to Beals and found a good deal on a bright yellow one. He wanted to take a picture of me in my new jeans and shirt so here I am striking a pose. My family made me an awesome birthday dinner with grilled hamburgers, macaroni salad, and watermelon when we went over for the 4th weekend. And it wouldn't be my birthday without a chocolate cake with 7-minute frosting. Here I am with Lexie and my cake...really, if you haven't tried this kind of cake you are missing out!

On the 4th we went to the Kanab festivities with my mom's family which has been tradition for quite a while now. We went to the parade and hung out with all the family at my aunt's house which is just across the street from the city park where all the games and entertainment go on. We enjoyed my uncle's famous dutch-oven chicken and potatoes, and their lawn is a front-row view of the fireworks that night so the setup is perfect. We are proud to be Americans and for our many freedoms! Here are a few pictures from our day.

Lexie enjoying the parade (and her bottle).

Our Family decked out in the Red, White, and Blue!

Lexie loves Great Grandpa Mickelson!

Lexie also loves Great Grandma Mickelson and Jell-o jigglers!

This is Lexie playing with my cousin's daughter Ta'Kara.

Lexie liked to point at the fireworks while she watched them.

Here is a short video clip of the firework show.