1st Year

I'm not really sure how it happened SO fast BUT our sweet little Loa turned 1!! I clearly remember the morning she was born and I'm so grateful for the way she has changed our lives!

She is such an easy going fun little girl! She's so loving and happy! And she loves her brother - he makes her laugh more than anyone!
















At one she's learned how to stand on her own (without holding on to anything), but isn't quite ready to walk -and I'm okay with that! :)
She learned a couple of weeks ago how to climb onto the couch herself and I'll often find her just sitting on the couch watching everything that's going on.
She hasn't ever really picked up on the sign language like Laexin did, I guess that's what happens with the second child :) --I'm not as consistent plus she is really dramatic and if she doesn't get what she wants NOW she has some serious lungs and I just don't want to hear the screaming so I give in :)
















































She loves to play - I often find her in her closet just playing with her shoes (I guess she's a girl!) She's smart, give her a pair of socks or shoes and she tries to put them on her feet, give her a headband or hat and she tries to get it on her head --she picks up on everything!
She continues to grow like a weed - I'm running out of clothes that fit her, were onto the 18-24 month clothes, she's so tall!
She loves her food & her sleep!






















For her first b-day we had an owl themed party "Look Whooooo's One" - it was fun, we just had close family and friends here. We had "wings" to eat ;) along with cupcakes, "nests" and other goodies and of course an Owl Pinata.



















































































She loved all of the attention and really dug into her Owl Cake (thanks to Aunt Kenzie for decorating it )


















































































We sure love this little Lady!

MARCH on!

DANG! Where oh Where did the month go - oh wait, let ME tell YOU!

The first half of the month I spent preparing BIG TIME! I had TWO huge boutiques happening - and a smaller one! {you can see some of my work at my NEW website! www.livnchic.com!}

Holy Cow ran March 16-19th and was a great success! {it's always nice when ALL of my work pays off!}

THEN I was featured on Zulily for the BIGGEST SALE OF MY LIFE {the SAME wee as Holy Cow-AHHH} - seriously, I had bags coming out the wazoo! Glad to report, it was also a Success! {AND, they want me back -YAY!}

I managed to throw in a fun 'GREEN' St. Patty's dinner - it wasn't anything amazing but I THINK it was plain Amazing that I remembered :)

I spent the week after the Big Sale & Boutique re-covering and shipping A LOT of bags! Oh yeah, AND I headed to Vernal that next weekend for a one day Boutique Open House!

The last week of the Month was busy cleaning the poor neglected house & we got to have Cade stay with us while he waited to move into his place - he'll be starting at the U in May!

Then on the very last day of the Month [the 31st] LeGrand had a B-day! 31 years! We had a fun night out with some friends, I got to laugh a lot and it was a blast! {When isn't Adults playing Laser Tag and Riding Go-Karts a blast??}

Did I manage to take any pictures of all the craziness?? -Probably not!

VALENTINES

We spent the evening enjoying dinner & dessert as a Family!

I cooked up some Crab, Lobster, Red potatoes, Asparagus, 4-layer dessert (LeGrand's FAVORITE) & some Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

YUMMY!

Love

I love, Love! I think we should celebrate it everyday!

I love these two!
































Even if a weekend of Dad working has just almost run me into the ground. I REALLY dread Sundays when LeGrand works, they go something like this...
*Me running around like a chicken with my head cut off first thing in the morning to get myself and the two little ones ready for and on time to 9 am church (the truth is I probably should have just pulled myself out of bed 30 minutes earlier)
*Then 3 yr old Laex decides once again to push every limit possible because he knows I'm juggling little sis and him alone and he wants to see just how far he can get.
*As a result I escort him out to sit in time out in the nearest room where he manages to scream as if I just broke his arm or something - meanwhile, for all I know, the entire sacrament meeting thinks I really did beat my kid.
*He finally decides to shape up and sit nicely through the rest of the meeting, which he actually does with a little bit of antsy-ness happening toward the end.
*Then I escort him off to Sunbeams, relief of one down :)
*I rush off to teach my ever-so-great 9 yr. old's who really do try to pay attention but it's really hard when little Loa is all over the place, including in each of their scripture cases and cruising from person to person.
*Once we make it through lesson time, I opt to skip out on sharing/singing time because my cute class can sit good without me AND because Loa finally realizes it's an hour and a half past her nap time and she's exhausted but she'd much rather be sleeping in her own bed therefore she'll fight to the bitter end before she finally gives in, 5 minutes before church is over.
*I go to pick up Laex from class where he is 'passed out' (not really, but faking it) on the floor - his teacher gets him up and he slowly follows me to the car exclaiming the whole way, 'I don't want to walk, I just don't feel like I can'. My reply, 'I'm carrying sissy and two bags, I can't carry you too - if you don't want to walk, stay here but were going home.' He makes it to the car :)
*We finally arrive home where I shovel them both full of food and put Loa down for a nap, she's out before her head hits the bed.
*He then settles down in front of a cartoon and I'm ready to go to bed and not wake up until tomorrow --oh wait, it's only 1:30 pm...

-whew-

On another note, Friday night LeGrand treated me to a great dinner and a fun 'Date Night' with the one and only Matt Townsend. It was fabulous! I would highly recommend it - I was laughing the entire time AND I learned some valuable info! I'm all about tips to strengthen my marriage, and nights out with my hubby - win, win!

Welcome Home!

I sure missed this Kid!
After TWO YEARS of serving faithfully in the Texas, Dallas mission we got to Welcome Home Elder Hoopes! We all put on our Yellow (*the color of welcome home, Cades favorite color & of course the color of the Rose of Texas;) *)



What a great day! Besides maturing a growing up, he's still the good 'ol Cade he's always been! It's great to have him home and exciting to see what the future holds for him!

Loa

Since this little lady is just about to her 10th month (I KNOW, CRAZY!!!)
I need to document some great things she's been doing!
*She's all over the place - right around 9 months she gave up the army crawl for the REAL crawl and there was no turning back -she loves to stand and cruise around the furniture
*She would MUCH rather eat what were eating than that stuff that comes from the jars :)
*She still only has two teeth but she hasn't been feeling well and I'm sure the others are on their way
*She Love, LOVES her brother
*She's all over the house exploring and I often find her just playing in Laex's room!
*She loves her shoes, if I can't find her in Laex's room I'll find her sitting in her closet with her shoes (she's a GIRL, through & through!)
*She's getting patty-cake down & signs 'milk', she also gives high fives and waves
*Dada is her favorite word but were working on mama!
*She's finally getting some hair but it is BLOND and I STILL have people call her a boy :( - even though she's rarely in anything but Pink!

We sure love this girl!

St. George. Again!

At the beginning of January we got to hang out in St. George for 7 days - again! (I know, I know, I'm REALLY timely with my posts lately ;)

As always we had a great relaxing time!
We swam & played & on Sunday the kids and I enjoyed a walk around the temple - Laex had a good time taking pictures for us, he did a pretty good job!