Spring Has Sprung!

The snow has melted and the sun has come out. I think it is safe to say that Spring has Sprung! We took Melanie to the park by our house. It is HUGE. This was her first time out on a "real walk!" She was born in the winter and it was a VERY cold one in fact, so we mostly kept her indoors because she was so little. Now that she is getting bigger, and the weather is getting warmer, we are having loads of fun taking her outside and introducing her to the world we live in. Here are a few pictures of Melanie on her first walk on the first day of Spring! 

Loving the sun's rays!

She seemed to tolerate it pretty well! 

One of my favorite things to do with Melanie is dress her up for church on Sundays. It is important to me that I dress her up modestly even as a baby. She will grow up with this habit and it will not be an issue when she gets older. That's one of the things I appreciate that my mom did for me. I remember she always had me dress modestly. I want to do the same thing for my daughter. Modest is Hottest! Haha! 

I am OBSESSED with making this baby girl headbands! When I was pregnant and found out I was having a girl, I went absolutely nuts buying headbands online for her. When I got them and she came along, none of the headbands fit! I was soooo disappointed! I wanted so bad to put big headbands on my baby girl. So what did I do? I decided to make some that would actually fit her! I went to Joann's and Michael's craft stores and went crazy getting things to make these head pieces for my little girl. I think I did pretty dang good  job if I do say so myself!

A few days after my birthday we went and got Melanie her first pair of sneakers. Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen!!!

This little one is a day away from being 3 months old. She is becoming a pro at holding her own head up!

Holding her head up like a champ!

Since she has been able to hold her own head up, one of her most favorite things to do is look over the edge of our bed and "talk" to Abby. It's adorable. 

I went to the kitchen for two seconds, came back, and found these buddies together. Melanie loves her dog and loves smiling at her. Abby loves her baby as well and does all she can to protect her and keep her from crying. When Melanie cries, Abby goes straight to me and acts as if she wants me to follow her to the baby so I can make her stop crying. It's cute. Abby has a special place in her heart for our baby girl.

We introduced Melanie to our parakeet. The expression on her face the first time she saw the bird was priceless! I am so glad I had my camera on me to catch the moment. It's as if she was thinking "Whoooa! What is that thing?!" Then she got used to the bird and actually let us put it on her shoulder. We had fun introducing them to one another. The bird didn't seem to mind Melanie at all.

Someone discovered herself in the mirror. She enjoys talking to that cute baby in the mirror. 

"Hey Good Lookin"

Oh gosh, this picture makes me laugh. Almost EVERY TIME we give Melanie a bath, Dallan gets her ready for it by taking her pants off and putting it on her head. She doesn't seem amused at all. Hahaha!

When she hears the bath water running, she gets smiley and super excited! Melanie loves the water!

I have too much fun with a baby girl. I painted my nails one day and decided to do hers too! Of course I had to wait until she fell asleep to do it. It was fun. Her little toes are so cute!

Like I said earlier, since the weather has gotten warmer, we have been going on a ton of walks. The other week my cousin Kristy and her cute baby boy had a lunch date with Melanie and me. We decided to walk around a huge lake since it was beautiful outside. We had a blast. There were tons of seagulls on the lake! It was cute to watch Kristy's little boy get so excited just by watching them.

During the walk around the lake I took Melanie for her first swing ride. She was so tiny in it! The swing seemed to swallow her up!

Melanie's Nana (my mom) loves to read to her. It's cute to watch them. Melanie of course doesn't understand a thing, but she sure does love to look at the pictures!

Dallan and I are all about walks now since the weather has been so nice. We like to go on them in the evenings before the sunsets. We walk along the nature trails by our house. It's absolutely beautiful outside on the trails. We tie up Abby's leash to Melanie's stroller while we walk. It's cute to watch the best buds side by side.  

So I've been cooking a ton lately and testing new recipes. The "cilantro shrimp alfredo pasta" was one that I made up and boy was it tasty. Then I made chicken fajitas one night by cooking the chicken and the veggies in the crock pot. Dallan loved that, can't you tell?

A few days before Easter we went over to our Grandma and Grandpa Hope's house to decorate Easter eggs. It's been a tradition they've had for years and years. We made lots and lots! This was Melanie's first time. Obviously she didn't do any decorating, but I made her her first decorated Easter eggs!

The day before Easter was Dallan's uncle's birthday. He invited everyone for an evening of fun! The entire Hope family went out to dinner to The Asian Star for some AWESOME Chinese food and after that we went to the Pioneer Theater up at the University of Utah and saw a play. The play was titled "The Odd Couple." It was hilarious! We had a great time. 

On Easter, we spent the evening with Dallan's family and went on a nice Sunday walk. The weather was perfect and the evening was beautiful.

Before we went over to Dallan's family's house, we spent the afternoon with my family. We went to my parents' ward. It was fun to show Melanie off in her little Easter outfit! So cute and pink! After church we had a DELICIOUS ham dinner with my family. Boy was it tasty! 

I think Melanie's first Easter was a special one for Dallan and me. It is fun spending holidays with a little family of our own. We love our little girl and would do anything for her. She is our whole world now.

I can't wait for the next holiday!