Alyssa turns 1!!!

Alyssa turned 1 on November 17th, and what a fun day it was for all of us! She must have known she was getting presents and cake that night, because she didn't throw a fit all day! That's my girl! I made her a regular chocolate cake, but the frosting I made out of sugar free cool whip and sugar free instant pudding so she wouldn't have so much chocolate and get sick! Worked pretty good if you ask me! When she first started eating her cake, she started by picking up a single sprinkle and putting it in her mouth. Then she got brave and started digging in that chocolate cake! We were so happy that friends and family were there to share this day with us, but were sad to miss all our friends and family that couldn't make it! Good thing Thanksgiving is coming up!

This has been such a fun year with Alyssa, and I am excited to start it by being a stay at home mom now! More memories I get to make with her. But, now I have to figure out how to peel her off of my leg so I can get other stuff done! :) She's learned so much her first year, and will only learn so much more her second year. I can't wait. Or, can I?....

Thank you to everyone who have helped us with Alyssa, and have grown to love her as much as we do! We love her, and are so blessed to have her as part of our family!

After digging into her cake!


Giving Daddy the most chocolatey kiss he has ever had!

Can't wait to get her hands on that cake!

Trying to get a peek of what is inside the bag!

Hanging with Grandma and Grandpa Riechman

Waiting for all the festivites to start

With Mom and Dad

Is anybody here yet?

Mom and Alyssa

Getting into all of the cupboards!




Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Fun at the Park

Why on earth do I keep the diaper pail in our bedroom? Everytime we walk into the room it smells like a fresh new diaper! I would hate to put it in her room too! How do I fight this smell?!

So, this is my second day without working! I love it! I wake up in the morning, and get to spend my day with Alyssa. Okay, so it's not all fun and lollipops like it sounds. I have to try to clean the bathroom while keeping her out of the dvd's. Fight with her when she gets a hold of my wallet, and is tearing out the checks. You know...fun stuff. I love to be home with her! Thanks Jesse!

We got to take her to the park, and this time I actually remembered my camera. She took her first ride on a swing, and actually rolled down the hill at the park. (by accident, and I didn't have my camera out) She really enjoyed it, and so did we! There was a tunnel that she kept trying to stand up in , and kept bumping her head. Am I cruel to think it was funny! :)

Times Past

It's easy to forget that you have a blog when there are other things in this world like facebook, work, church, church callings, playtime, clean time, and vacation! I have been lazy with this blog, but I guess it's time to move on. Welcome BACK to our blog!

I have recently put my 2 weeks in at work, so I will officially be a "Stay at Home Mom" and I am so excited! We are currently trying to get pregnant, which we are excited about, and can't wait to have my time dedicated to family and home.

Alyssa is now walking to all of you who didn't know. She started walking the first few weeks of October, and has not stopped since. She's getting more teeth, more baths, and is becoming more and more independent.

Halloween has come and gone, and now we are on to the Fall Season! Who doesn't love this time of year? We get to have paid time off work, food, friends, family, and gifts. We get to celebrate Christ, and also have a time for Thanksgiving! This is that time!

We recently went to Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa Riechman and we had so much fun. Alyssa was excited to be there, but every time we got on a ride she had the most serious face. She was just taking everything in. Every time we stopped to take pictures with a character she wouldn't look at the camera! Only at the character. Funny Baby. Now that Disneyland is gone, we are hoping to soon be pregnant again.

Jesse is excited because he and friends have purchased season tickets for Rebel Basketball. First game tonight. Let's see how well I handle being alone for this basketball season!

Us with our friend Mickey! aka Shirley!

Alyssa with Grandma and Grandpa and MICKEY!

Waiting in Line!

Ready for church!

Ready for Halloween!

Cedar City

We took the whole week off last week and went to UTAH! It was a lot of fun seeing family and just relaxing. We were able to stay with my sister and her family (Thanks guys!), see a couple of plays at the Utah Shakespearean Festival (Thanks Bev), hike, go to the Renaissance Fair, quilt, hike, and take naps! It was a lot of fun.

We celebrated the 4th of July at Grandma Roberta's house with our family. We barbequed, played red rover, and capture the flag. It was fun. Then on the 5th the fireworks were shot off. We were right under where they shot them off at, and it was amazing! The fireworks were raining right down on us! I've never seen them like that before. And I'll never wanna see fireworks from afar again! :)

When we went to the Greenshow at the Festival, Alyssa sat there inbetween Mason and Carson and watched for a few minutes! It was so cute! She looked like she was having so much fun! Too bad that on the way home she was so sick! It was horrible. Took a couple of days to get over it, but she was always a GOOD baby! Great moods! How do babies do that? Get sick, but still manage to be pleasant? I know that they aren't like that all the time, but she was with this illness. When she got me sick, I was NOT pleasant. So, good for her!

When we went to the parade, she sat with Grandma Holly and Gigi, Grandpa Charlie, Aunt Bev and her cousin Nico. She fell asleep during the parade, she was so tired!

What a fun trip. Thanks to everyone for putting up with us while we were there! Hope everyone is doing well!

SWIMMING!

Getting ready for the pool!


She loved kicking in the pool!

All smiles!

Alyssa and Jesse!

We took Alyssa swimming for the first time, and she LOVED it! We tried her first in her floatie. But she loved to have one of us hold her while she kicked! Even more than the floatie. That night was the first night that she has EVER slept through the night! It can't get any better than that! Since then she has slept through the night multiple times! We go swimming again this Saturday, and I CAN'T wait! Loving the summertime~

For some reason Alyssa loves to hang out the side of her swing. I don't get what she's doing, but she'll crank all the way to the left of the swing, and play or fall asleep. What is she doing? While we have no idea, it's still fun to watch, and play with her. Can't ever take a good picture though, cause she'll move back into place if I turn the swing off... Hmmm...

Welp, Nothing really going on in our home. We work, sleep, eat, and hang out. We are trying to lost weight, but don't take it seriously enough. I wanna get that Biggest Loser workout that I say my Mom buy. I also want the ab circle pro (or the mini one) I want it SO badly, but money is tight. Dang money!

Alyssa has been eating so well lately! She eats her cereal in the am and pm, then has veggies at lunch. She loves her veggies WAAAY more than her cereal. Sometimes she acts like she's gagging when I give her the cereal. What a drama queen.. Above, she is chilling in the pj's that Grandma Janice found for her at Ross!

We realized just the other day that we don't really have any pics of Alyssa in her towel after bathtime. So I sat her down on Jesse and took some pics while she picked at her towel. She is at such a fun age. She wants to grab at everything, especially my cup when I'm drinking out of it. So, now she has her own cup and I give her water in it. About 2-3 ounces in a day is all she can have though. It's not a sippy cup, just a regular Joe Schmoe cup. She loves it, and laps it up with her tongue like she's a little pup. How cute.

Hope everyone is doing well, and watch out for Summer!

Baking with Alyssa

Alyssa just loves this carrier that I just bought. I was making some cookies one day and Alyssa was being fussy in her seat so I put her in this and we made cookies together! She has a natural gift! She thinks this thing is the stuff, so it's hard for me to keep her out of it! Love toting my little girl around!

Grandmas

Gigi and Alyssa on Easter Sunday

Alyssa enjoying her breezy hawaiian dress

Alyssa's great grandmother Bradley loves her! She is over here every Friday when Grandma Holly is watching her! I imagine both Grandma's just sitting here, and ignoring everything but Alyssa. Alyssa loves ALL of her Grandmas, and lights up when she sees any of them! Love and kisses to all the Grandmas.

Pierced Ears!

She's making this face because it's the first time I gave her water! She didn't like it!

Alyssa got her ears pierced on March 24th, but I have yet been able to set her down and take a good pic. She's always moving! So, here are some that I managed to get a glimpse of the earrings!

Easter

Checking out her basket!

Outfit that Grandma Holly made for Easter

Grandma Holly and Alyssa

Tracee and boys with Alyssa

Alyssa and Daddy (with Mom in the background pic on the wall ;) )

Easter was spent at the Riechmans along with Grandma Bradley, Tracee and her boys, Jesse and us, and Darron. We had a great time hunting eggs, eating food all day, and playing Wii. Jesse gave a lesson about why we celebrate Easter, and then we watched 2012. Alyssa wore the outfit that her Grandma Holly made for her. She looked so beautiful, though we didn't leave the bonnet on all day. She has so much fun these days, that it's hard to take my eyes off of her. She loved spending time with everyone on Easter Sunday! Can't wait for the next holiday! Memorial Day = Bathing Suits and Barbeques!