Can I just begin by saying how much I adore this sweet picture. It's a perfect "caught in the moment" photo. The love that these two sisters have for each other at such a young age amazes me.
In February we celebrated a very special day for us Hopes. The day that we all got sealed as a family. It was neat because Dallan and I got the opportunity to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple with his parents to do an endowment session. We then picked up the girls and had a family dinner at Chili's.... "baby back ribs." (I can't say that restaurant's name with out singing that jingle in my head. Good marketing right there...)
It was a great evening and I'm glad Dallan, the girls, and I were able to spend it with his parents and sister. :)
Melanie and I do "home school" a few days a week and right now we are working on writing her name. She is doing great for a little girl who just turned three not too long ago!
Ok normally we do not take pictures in church, but this time Dallan couldn't help himself. Anna was sitting in her car seat and every time Dallan would look at her, he would wink. Well every time he winked, she gave him the biggest smile. It was too cute to pass up!
This little girl is getting too big. Time needs to slow down.
And can I just say, she has THE MOST kissable cheeks!
Anna banana has found her hands and is constantly putting them in her little mouth.
She is the sweetest baby!
My two little Sous Chefs. They like to hang out on the counter while I make cookie dough.
How can I say "no" to this sweet little thing sleeping in my bed. After a few kicks to the ribs and hogging of the blankets, it starts to get pretty easy... Lol!
So I got some new glasses and Melanie went with me to the eye doctor when I had to pick out some new ones. She wanted some really bad and didn't understand why she couldn't have some. So we went to the mall and got her some non-prescription glasses. Haha! Look at that pose! She enjoyed wearing them for a day, now she could care less about them. Haha!
These two. LOVE THEM!
One day the girls weren't feeling too well so I helped Melanie build a giant bed of pillows on the floor and we watched movies. It was a lazy day for sick kiddos.
Look at them holding hands... Melts my heart.
Anna is getting so strong. She enjoys tummy time and playing with her toys that make noises.
Love her cute little lips!
Can you say spoiled?
No blog of mine would be complete without a family photo!
I decided to incorporate some of Melanie's cute art work in the house. I framed some paintings and drawings she had done and put them above the counters in the kitchen. I think it turned out cute.
The key to get a kiddo to eat their dinner is to let them help make it. One night I had made pizza and I let Melanie make her own. She ate the whole thing!
Just laying on the floor, waiting for Daddy to get home from work!
One morning I wanted to make pancakes, but I didn't have any eggs. I found this "eggless" recipe for pancakes and they were DELISH!
Here is the recipe in case anyone wants to try it....
1 cup of flour
1 pinch of salt
1 Tsp of sugar
2 heaping Tsps of baking powder
1 large pinch of cinnamon
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1 Tbsp of melted butter
1 cup of milk
1/2 Tsp of vanilla
Mmmmmm............ :)
We've been having the most gorgeous sunsets lately. This picture is completely unedited.
Simply beautiful!
We had to update our gallery wall with new pictures. Anna wasn't in the old ones. She's a dear part of our family and we HAVE to show it off!
One day this past week it was really nice and sunny outside. We decided to take advantage of it and plant some tulips in our front yard.
Melanie and Anna sure enjoyed the beautiful weather!
Of course, every post has to include our family pooch!
Melanie's face in this picture is too cute. She is just laughing super hard because we were all trying to take a morning selfie and even Abby jumped in the picture and Melanie thought it was hilarious.
Abby cuddles!
I swear this dog is so patient with kids.
Love this girl and her sweet smile. :)
No trip to Costco is complete without testing out the furniture first!
Pretty sure Melanie and my dad could have fallen asleep in this chair. Hahaha!
Little Anna-banana has found her feet and tries to eat them every chance she gets.
Melanie's goldfish "Shadow" died and she was devastated. She kept asking, "I don't have a pet to take care of anymore?"
Dallan and I felt bad. We feel that giving her a pet at a young age is good for her. Not only does it give her companionship, but it teaches her responsibility and gives her doable chores for her age (making sure it has food, water, clean place to live, etc).
I did not want anymore fish so we talked about what small animals she could be ok with having. It was either a bird, hamster, rat, or guinea pig. Dallan didn't want another bird (we've already had two). There was no way in HECK I was going to let a hamster or a rat in the house. So... a quinea pig it was!
We didn't want to get one from Petsmart or Petco because we feel they aren't as tame. My family and I used to go to this pet store in North Salt Lake all the time, and it's called Pet Village. So we decided to go there to pick one out. Plus the quinea pigs there were all babies/young, so it's not like we would get one and it would die a week later. Ya know? Haha!
The people there are SUPER nice and they take such good care of the animals before they get adopted. We went straight to the guinea pig/rabbit area and this nice girl let Melanie hold all the guinea pigs that they had so she could see how they would react to her. She picked this sweet little one out. It was a little girl and she was the smallest one in the group. She was very mellow and super tame. Melanie loved her. PERFECT!
While Melanie was picking out her pet, Anna found this grey parrot super interesting. Haha!
Then it was time to take her home! Melanie was so excited! She wanted to hold the box and everything. Since her guinea pig was a girl, on the way home from the pet store Melanie was thinking of what girl name to give her new pet. She decided on the name "Dancer" all by herself!
Melanie loves to dance, so the name she picked out fit just perfectly.
Getting to know each other.
Super happy little girl with her new pet guinea pig. :)
I may hate hamsters and rats, but this guinea pig is a sweet one and I don't mind holding her at all.
"Dancer's hungry Mommy."
Just eating carrots together.
Now that we have a new addition to the family (Dancer the guinea pig) doesn't mean we can forget about our loyal friend Abby.
I went to Costco to get her a new dog bed because she desperately needed one. I didn't realize how flippin' huge they were! This is the biggest dog bed I've ever seen and it was only 28 bucks!
Needless to say, she LOVES it.
Oh, and Melanie loves it too... Haha!
Just two little girls, sleeping with their Teddy. Love them both so much!
Melanie got to have a sleepover with her Nana and Tata (my parents) the other night. They sent me this picture before they went to bed. It made me smile. :)
Melanie sure loves all of her grandparents, from my side and Dallan's side!
Sometime last week, Melanie and my dad went on a little "Grandfather-Granddaughter date." I made my dad take pictures of course. Must document everything! Haha!
He took her to the IFA Country Store and right now at this time of year, they have baby chicks and ducklings. :)
Then Melanie said that they went and saw "the girl with red hair (Wendy's) for a hamburger and a frosty." Hahaha!
Every time we set up this play set thing for Anna, she always ends up like this. I don't think she quite understands how to use it. Lol! :)
Little cutie pie!
This month (March) on the 9th, our little Anna turned 6 months old. Where has the time gone! She is already half way to being a year old. That's crazy!
Our sweet girls have given Dallan and me so much joy and love. I don't remember what life was like without them.
I read this quote once and it really touched me.
"Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise."
