The Dark Side

Some people are book smart and do really well in school.

Others are "street smart" or "people smart" and do really well with people. Some may call them "Masters of Manipulation." Now, these skills may be used for good or evil.

Don't let this cute little BYU baby fool you. I know she LOOKS like the scholarly type.

Today, when I was blow drying my hair Lizzie was getting upset because I was not paying much attention to her. A few minutes ago, however, she had bumped her head and was crying so I stopped what I was doing and held her and calmed her down.
I then went back to blow drying my hair.
I'm watching her in the mirror and I see her purposefully and very gently knock her own head into the door then she lets out some ear piercing shrieks and fake crying.

Like I said, these skills may be used for good OR evil...apparently Lizzie has joined the dark side.

Lunch With Elder Perry

Today we had the amazing opportunity to have a private lunch with Elder L. Tom Perry! It was the Stevens family plus Elder Walker and his wife too. I have always enjoyed hearing Elder Perry speak but it is usually on TV and I am sharing the experience with millions of people all over the world. It was really fun to meet him in a personal setting, shake his hand, and get to know his personality. He has a great sense of humor and surprisingly spry for his age. He has a great gift of making the people around him feel comfortable. He asked Dave a lot of questions about his new career in dentistry and told some fun stories about his past careers and life experiences including throwing a couple of the first pitches for some Red Sox games (upon our requesting to hear about it) Aside from these fun experiences at lunch, I think I most enjoyed hearing him speak at Stake Conference. There was such great truth and power in his words when he testified of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the gospel.

The Generational Pumpkin Costume!

My mom mailed me the exact costume that I wore for Halloween when I was one year old. Although Liz was a flower girl for Halloween I thought it would be fun to have pics of her in this pumpkin costume too! In this picture I was younger than Lizzie is now but when you compare us at the same age in other pictures we look SO similar!

Lizzie's First Halloween Birthday Party

Since Lizzie was born the day before Halloween we will forever get to have fun Halloween/Birthday costume parties!! To celebrate her big day we threw a small family party. Lizzie is the cutest flower child ever!


We are the classic Seattle family- two hippies and a flower child! heehee.

I absolutely LOVE making kid-type Halloween treats and so it was fun to get to make these for her birthday.

I made Lizzie a big lion head cake since she LOVES lions so much. The idea was to let her tear into it and stuff her face with cake. However, she's too much of a dainty eater to eat in such a sloppy manner. The cake made her smile but she seemed hesitant to ruin it and dig in. She's actually not a big fan of sweets so she never really did more than taste bits and pieces of it. She did like the chow mein noodles though.

After she picked at the Lion head for a while I gave her some cucumbers and mushrooms- thats when she decided to finally eat! She loves her veggies!

1 Year Old

Lizzie is now 1 whole year old! I feel like it was just yesterday that our sweet Lizzie was born. I tried to capture on video all of her "1 yr old tricks" but she just has too many now and will not perform well when the camera is out. I did get some good ones though!

We are so lucky to have her and she brings so much joy to our lives. It is so exciting to live with a one year old. She is full of personality! Some adjectives that come to mind when I think about Lizzie: smart, spunky, beautiful, hilarious, opinionated, determined, sweet, entertainer, and dancer.

Favorite Activities: Reading, playing with a ball, dancing, bathing, swimming, riding in stroller, and hugging Lenny.

Favorite Color: Yellow (Yes, she already has a favorite color. It started with a book about colors and she loved lifting the yellow flap and hearing me say "yellow!") Ever since she took to hearing me say "yellow" she has been excited about anything yellow and can point to yellow objects when asked.

Favorite Words/Phrases: Animal sounds (octopus, dog, hungry bear, snake, lion) "kick the ball", "daddy", "mamma", "bye bye", "Ta-da!", "doggy", "baby", and "baba (bottle)." Signing: all done, more, and bye bye.

Favorite Animal: Lion. Tigers are a close second.

Favorite Foods: Cheese, avacados, cucumbers, pickles, strawberries, and bananas. She generally does not care for sweets except ice cream.

Favorite Song: "La Grange" Daddy and Liz's dance song!

Favorite Book: "Lift the Flap ABC Board Book"

Tyler and Brandi Washburn Wedding

Tyler and Brandi- Again, Congratulations!!!!! Since you missed your own toast, here's mine to the both of you:

May the love in your eyes, sweet whispers of your lips, and the gentleness of your hearts and hands endure throughout the eternities.



Tyler and Brandi are now married! They are the most adorable couple. You can really tell they are in love. I felt greatly honored when they asked me to take photographs for them at their reception. I did my best under the circumstances considering my lack of a professional camera and the reception taking place in an indoor low light setting (worst possible light for getting good pics). However, the most important aspect was accomplished in that some of these special moments were captured for future remembrance.

Cousins

Last week Dave and I flew out to attend Tyler's wedding in...UTAH! The great benefit to a wedding in Utah is that we got the chance to visit with extended family. It was especially fun to stay at my Grandma's house and my Aunt and Uncle's, too. The cute little girls in the picture look like they are my nieces but they are actually my adorable cousins! It was so fun to get to spend time with them.