Awesome April

Well, it looks like I have seriously slacked on my blogging, as of late! Hopefully I will be better next month. For now, I thought I would take a few moments to recap some of the fun things that went on last month. At first, it was hard to think of much besides Easter, but now that I have racked my brain, it seems there was a ton of stuff!

As we mentioned in the last post, Easter was great! We spent the day with Scott's family and had a blast helping Alexander hunt for Easter eggs. We are super excited for next year when he will get to run around and look for the eggs himself. It will be so much fun!

Another fun thing that happened for me this month, was that I got to visit some of my mission companions. Rachel Johns (formerly Sister Ransom) and I got together and went to check out the new mall in Salt Lake called City Creek. It is a super cute outdoor mall and reminds me of an upscale Redmond Towne Center. It was fun getting to see Rachel and her baby Kate. I have really gotten closer to Rachel since I got home because our babies are only a month apart, and it seems as though we have similar ideas on things we like to try for raising our little ones. So I love bouncing new ideas off her, and learning from some of the things she is doing. She is great! Later in the month, Rachel and I attended a baby shower for our mutual mission companion, Rachel Warner (formerly Sister Van Pelt). It was so much fun seeing her all cute and pregnant while we played with our babies. At one point during the baby shower we put Alexander and Kate next to each other and they were just playing and became the hit of the shower. It was so cute. Below is a picture of all of us together.

Well, as you know, I am currently serving in the Young Women's Presidency. I take every opportunity I can to find excuses to make fun deserts for them. Awhile ago, we had a karaoke night, and I made them microphone cupcakes using cupcakes, candies and ice cream cones. It was super fun. This month, we did a tea party for the girls and I made cupcakes that looked like cups of tea. I am definitely no cake decorator, but they still turned out cute. Below are pictures of the cupcakes and our tea party:

Another fun thing that I did this month was go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point with my friend Kim, and her daughter, Kaylee. It was super fun! It ended up being a last minute decision to go, but I loved it. Last year, Scott and I went and really enjoyed it too! The only thing was that I was super pregnant last year, so it was nice to walk around and not get too tired and hot. The flowers were all so pretty! It was also fun watching Alexander as I took pictures of him. It was super hard because he wanted to play in the dirt and touch all the flowers. He is such a little boy!!! Below are a few pictures of us at the Tulip Festival.

Of course, we have to talk about all the new things Alexander learned how to do this month. It seems as if he has grown so much this month! The biggest milestone was that he learned how to crawl! The first time he crawled was April 14. It was actually kind of funny. Alexander loves my toes, so one day, I put them close to him when he was on the floor and slowly backed away, and the he crawled for the first time! I guess my painted toes have a bigger purpose than just looking cute! Even though Alexander has only been crawling a few weeks, he has done so much in that time. He learned how to get himself onto just his knees while next to the couch, and can now even pull himself to his feet while next to the couch or near a person. It is funny though, because he wants so badly to do it on his own that he will let go of the couch and try to stand on his own. Of course he doesn't have the balance down yet, so he usually falls. It is still super cute to watch. Another fun thing he is doing is trying to sing. We have a habit of singing to Alexander every night before bed. We usually sing him a lullaby type song and a hymn. Well, sometimes he will try and sing along, and a few weeks ago, he tried to sing at church. It was adorable! This month he also started making the "mama" and "dada" sounds. I don't think he associates it with us yet, but we try to encourage him to keep making those sounds. Lastly, he has started clapping when he is excited. It is so cute! Below are some pictures of some of these milestones this month, as well as some other cute things.

(This is a crazy picture...I know! But Scott loves blowing 

into Alexander's face and watching this reaction!) 

(Alexander HATES all green vegetables, so one 

night we were having green beans and I thought

it would be fun to try to let him feed himself and

he loved them. He couldn't get enough!) 

(This is Alexander's favorite ball. He chases it all around

the house. It is so cute!) 

(Alexander loves doorstops! He will go up and down the

hallway just playing with doorstops!) 

(Who needs toys when you have electronics?) 

(Alexander put himself in this position. It 

looks like he is in jail. So adorable!)

Well, not every growing moment is full of smiles and laughter. There have been a few hard things this month too. Alexander got both of his top front teeth in this month. He got them within two weeks, and the next one came in the beginning of May, with another to follow any day now. So he has been a bit cranky. Hopefully we will have a break from teething soon. He has also acquired many bruises this month. Since he started crawling, it seems that he runs into everything. But the worse bruise he received this month didn't have to do with crawling at all. He got it while swinging at the park. We were just hanging out and having fun, and out of nowhere this little boy ran right in front of Alexander as he was swinging. Alexander received a black eye, and the little boy got a goose egg on his head. Poor boys! After it happened, I wished I had super hero powers and could have stopped the whole thing, but I guess that is life! To the left is a picture of his first black eye.

Finally, I would like to wrap up this month with some precious moments of parenting! There were a few special moments this month that just melted our hearts. One of them was when Scott was leaving for work. Every day, we have breakfast together and have a group hug as Daddy is leaving for work. Well, one day, Alexander started crying after the hug. It was as if he knew Daddy was going to work and he wanted him to stay! So cute! The next two stories actually happened on the same day. A few days after Alexander started to crawl, Scott started chasing him around the house. It is so cute watching them. Anyway, after that first time, Scott said, "I have been waiting to do that ever since he was born, and now I finally can! I love that little guy so much. I never knew how great it is to be a Dad!" So sweet! That same night I was singing Alexander to sleep, and as is a common occurrence for me, I started making up a song to sing for him. I was singing about what a sweet boy he is and how much joy he brings to me. Before I knew it, I was describing all the things I love about him, and I was drawn to tears. I really do love my little man! I have to say, that my life feels perfect right now. I have an amazing husband, and a sweet little boy. I truly am blessed!

Well, you have finally made it to the end of this blog! Thanks for sticking it out with me! Next month I will try to update the blog more frequently, so that you don't have to read it all at once. Tune in next time for some fun walking memories!