Tribute to Alivia

So it is my second night back to work and I have been thinking of Alivia a lot this week. She is growing up so much. Today Austin was crying and Alivia went to give him the pasaphire. She softly put the binky in his mouth and held it there till he got ahold. Then she let go and it fell out -- Alivia's words "Whoops ~ Sorry baby!" with a little giggle. Then she did it again and he took it this time. Alivia's words "I did it!" then she kissed Austin on the head. It melted my heart. She is becoming such a good big sister and I definently see a bond forming there. In fact the second she hears Austin cry whether from his crib in his room or his bassinet in ours -- She runs for him yelling quietly to herself "baby's crying". She has learned quickly what is acceptable and what is not. Such as bouncing the Dora ball on Austin's head (it was a soft plush ball) but not acceptable, kissing Austin "ONCE at at time" acceptable, grabbing his hand till he cries --not acceptable, softly holding his hand and rubbing it acceptable. Oh I wish everybody could stay at home with us all day and see these little acts they are priceless. Anyhow, here are some pics of Alivia growing up right before our eyes. Bear with me I am at work so I don't have much of a selection, but it will do: As sad as I am to see my baby girl change daily I love the fact that I get to watch her grow into such a beautiful girl.

MeMoRiAl DaY wEeKeNd

This weekend we had so much fun. We spent our weekend in as a family. Day one we went and decorated graves with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Letty (Letty cringes every time you call her grandma so we love to do it) then day 2 we spent at Hogle zoo in SLC. Alivia and Mitch enjoyed getting to see all the neat animals. Austin and I enjoyed it too but not nearly as much. Day 3 we went and explored the gateway mall and the children's museum. Enjoy the pics!!!
We started out at American Falls cemetery and decorated graves for Mitch's dad's family, including the above grave Mitch's grandma Mandi. She passed away this last year.
Here are Austin and Alivia patiently waiting for us to finish. Austin woke up towards the end and they were both all smiles.
Here is Mitch's dad and Austin. You can't tell by this picture but there is a lot of resemblance between the two!
Then we ventured on to Pocatello to do my family and McKay. Here is a picture of the finishing product of McKay's. The airplane and new post were curtosy of Grandpa Rick and Grandma Letty. Thanks.

Day 2 -- Off to the Zoo!
Alivia took some time getting used to the zoo! She loved it as long as she was in the stroller or I was holding her. Every now and then we could get her to walk around.
This is what Austin did the whole first half of the day --What a good boy!Then when he woke up and ate. He was even better.
Here is Alivia waiting paitently for the train. OK in this picture she looks like she is being patient but she only sat for a half a second. Long enough to get a picture.
Here we are on the train. Alivia enjoyed it more then it looks like. She didn't know the girl taking our picture so she wasn't going to smile.
After the train ride we went over to the play land and on the way we stopped to feed the gosling. At the play land we made Alivia pause a few times for some photo opportunities.
At the end of the day we couldn't leave without some hogle zoo merchandise to remind us our zoo adventure. So Alivia and Austin got matching hats!Alivia and Austin modeling their new hats!Here it looks like Alivia is being nice and allowing Austin the pleasure of riding in the front. The truth is we couldn't get Alivia to get out of the back and Austin was becoming to heavy to carry~ so we stuffed a blanket in with him, harnessed him in and prayed he wouldn't fall forward.
After the zoo we enjoyed dinner at the Macaroni Grille and took a nice long swim at the hotel.

Day 3 --The Gateway/Children's Museum
Alivia was not in the best mood on this day! By the time the museum opened it was noon and she was already starting to show the wear of the busy weekend. We did get her to do a few activities such as shopping (her favorite thing to do)!
She even tested the produce to see how fresh it was!Then we went over and she played in the garden.
And of course Dad had his fun with the helicopter. Which actually scared the living daylights out of Alivia. Dad turned on a button which makes the helicopter sound like it is taking off and she was not impressed with him.
Needless to say that ended our short time at the museum! We then got some lunch and headed back home to Pocatello.

Yeah It's Summer.....

for a weekend at least. That is the only downfall to living in Idaho! But since it was so warm this weekend we decided to venture off and go swimming at the one in only LaVa!!!! You have to act quick on a warm day to make the best of it before it is gone! We had so much fun and Alivia was in the water the whole day ~Thanks to her uncle Justin and aunt Sequoia (and all her friends)! Here are some pictures from our summer day!
Here is Alivia with her Aunt Sequoia and Uncle Justin!!

Uncle Justin took Alivia to visit the snake out in the middle of the pool~~She was pretty excited when she got to get on the snake, but we didn't get any pictures of it. (For those who don't know the snake is made out of foam and is a fun toy for all the kids!)

Austin enjoyed the day too!! He just kicked back and slept~Except when he was eating.
He also enjoyed a dip in the water!! The water was warm so it made the day even better!

As the day got warmer we decided he need to lay out, but we were worried about the sun!! So we put our brains together and made a little tent for him!! He actually liked it quite a bit!

Alivia also enjoyed a nice big snow cone (it was almost as big as her)
she also enjoyed just being one of the girls!!!
( Back Row: Dylan, Sequoia. Front: Dakota, Timmy, Gabby and Alivia)

*~*~*PLAYDATE*~*~*

Today Alivia had her best friend Kamryn over for a playdate. They began with lunch using her princess tea set and served PB&J and Apple Juice. After Austin ate and laid down for his mid morning nap we headed out side for some spring time fun! Blowing bubbles and just enjoying the sun!!!


Then after minutes of begging I got the two girlie's to head in side and they danced and read stories. They had a lot of fun ~~~!!!
And if you are wondering where's Austin. Well he slept the whole time. But I couldn't help but throw in a few pictures of him in so here you go (buy the way Monday he was 4 weeks and weighed 12 lbs 6 oz) He is growing good!!!