Beach Day

Today since Justin left early this morning and My family was all at a wedding I decided to pack up with Davis and head to the beach. Growing up whenever I needed some cheering up I would drive down Kanan road and sit at the beach. It was the perfect way to relax and just get a clear perspective on life. So that is what we did, we sat and relaxed. The weather was beautiful it wasn't warm to go in the water but it was sunny and quiet. The waves were beautiful and there was no wind at all. I could have sat there forever. It took Davis a minute or two to get used to the feeling of sand on her feet, and sure how to deal with it at first. She warmed up fast and was truckin around in no time. She walked with me down to the water where she proceeded to wave at everyone who walked by. There was this adorable mom there with her kids and Davis sure liked them. She waved and smiled made them laugh. The mom was a great lady and we had a wonderful talk about being a mom and all the joys it brings. As we were talking I was watching Davis be so cute and happy and I fell in love with her again. This year has been very good and very challenging, and she has made all of it better. It was fun to be at the beach with her and watching her have as much fun there as I had growing up.

So here is a full recap of the day:

Beach

Figuring out the sand

Loving the sand

Running and walking everywhere

Getting very close to the water and being very brave

Being cute and waving to everybody around

Getting to know a cute family

Chasing seagulls

Feeding seagulls cheerios

chasing more seagulls

cuddling with me while watching the waves

and of course making everyone around smile

Falling asleep about a minute after getting in her car seat

took a 2 hour nap (she hasn't done that this whole vacation)

I could do this everyday!!!

Here is the view from one of the turn offs on Kanan road.

Love

Sitting watching the waves and having my baby girl close is heaven.

Cuddle bug!

Just the two of us

Plyo training on the beach. She has start some time right.

Her and this seagull had a ten minute stare down. The seagull blinked first for sure.

The cute family that was so sweet to me and Davis.

Davis was waving at the family behind me. Look at those eyes!

Sand in the toes

Love

She was just looking at the sand on her feet. This is when she was unsure about what to think about it.

This was a good day, we might repeat it tomorrow.

The cake

Final Product on the table with the balloons.

next time I will use better icing to pipe on the face.

For Davis' first birthday I wanted to have a really great cake. When we knew we were going to be in California for her birthday I started to price out cakes. I wanted a really cool Minnie mouse cake because the theme was mickey mouse clubhouse. I was more than shocked at how expensive it was to have a professional cake made even just to feed 10-15 people. So that was when I decided that I would have to channel my inner cake maker and do it myself. Over the last two months I have been gathering the right tools and things to do it. I practiced using fondant once even though my plan was to practice a lot more. So after my practice cake I just looked at the design and tried to picture what I

wanted and how I was going to do. In my head I had the exact plan and steps of how I was going to construct this cake. The night before I made all the cake, stacked them and frosted them. The next morning I got up early to finish it and start the hardest part. I was so surprised at how smoothly each step went. I took my time and made sure that I followed the steps that I had in my head for two months. It did take forever though, I was shocked how long it took me to make it start to finish. So I got all the fondant on and Justin with his artistic capabilities put the face on for me. I must it turned out great, and when Davis saw it she actually started to squeal because she could recognize that it was Minnie. I am so proud of what I was able to do with no training and very little practice. It just made the whole day and party so fun. And yes it was good red velvet cake with chocolate fudge filling.

The girl turned 1!!

Yesterday was Davis' first birthday. I really can't believe that it has been a year already with our little angel. This year has brought many a new experience for our little family. Some good, some bad, some easy, some hard. I will tell you this though, that all of them were made better because of her. I have loved seeing her grow and develop this whole year.

We are here in California with my family for the holidays which means that they got to be apart of her first birthday. Justin's Parents also decided to drive over from Arizona to be a part of the festivities. The day started out great with her waking up in a great mood (which is actually pretty normal for her.) We sang to her right when she woke up. Then Justin and Davis went with his parents to Santa Monica while I was here making her cake and getting ready for the family party that night. They had a great time there, they danced to music, hugged dogs, and chased pigeons. While they were out I worked for hours on her cake, I had no idea how long it was going to take but it was worth it. I had a vision and surprisingly I was able to bring that vision to life. We had a lot of fun with all the family especially the cousins Ava and Seth.

We opened presents, she got clothes, books, blocks, and a little bike thing that she can ride around the house. Luckily her legs are long because they actually touch the ground. It was a great time. After presents we did the whole cake thing. I was looking forward to seeing her dig in and go crazy, but like the girl that she is she gently poked at it and ate it slowly. It was so cute and so Davis.

She is an absolute dream to have and a blessing to our family. She has the ability to bring happiness to whomever is around her. A gift that I hope I can help her cultivate and appreciate as she grows. We love her so much.

One year stats

Height: 31 inches (95+ percentile)

Weight: 19lbs 11ounces (45 percentile)

Head: 17 inches (50 Percentile)

PICTURES TO COME... STAY TUNED...

Merry Christmas!

We had our ward Christmas party a couple weeks ago while Justin was in Hawaii. I was so excited to have Davis see Santa for the first time. I was also sad because Justin was going to miss seeing his little girl sit cute and peacefully on Santa's lap and smile. She has never had a problem with people or animals so I figured that Santa was no problem. We waited in line and played with other kids and talked she was happier even than usual which is hard for her because she is pretty much perfect all the time. We walked into the room and walked up to Santa... She took one look at him and was not having any of it. I kinda froze because freaking out was not part of the plan. So I gathered my thoughts and threw her on his lap snapped a picture and bolted. Luckily they had someone there taking pictures so it all took a split second. I walked away mortified that my child was the one that didn't like Santa, but as I walked down the hall I heard another terrified cry coming from the Santa room. I feel bad but I am glad someone else had a Santa melt down too.

Something New

I love watching all the shows about cake decorating and dream about doing what they do. I know I will probably never be that good but I really do enjoy cooking. There is something so therapeutic about baking from scratch.

So for Davis' Birthday we are doing a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party. I really want her to have a great cake. After pricing out what it would cost to have a great cake I decided I would roll up my sleeves and try my hand at real cake decorating. I have been doing more and more and trying new things but I will going way outside myself by using fondant and different techniques for her cake. So I figured I had a month to practice as much as I could so that I get it right when her birthday comes.

I started today with just a single layer rainbow cake, marble fondant with a bow and dots. Before putting the bow and dots on I tried a technique I saw on the cake boss. He used steam to make it shiny and sticky so it was easy to put things on. So just used the steam setting on our iron and it worked great. I found great recipes for everything and I feel like it turned out okay. My next step is doing a layered cake.

Very First Fondant covered cake, and the finished product.

Inside of cake MMM. That was the best buttercream frosting I have ever had.

This is what I am hoping to make Davis. Hers wont be this tall but I am doing a three layer red velvet cake with chocolate fudge filling. I have a pretty good game plan of how I am going to pull off the fondant and decorating. I am relying on Justin and his artistic ability to draw my Minnie mouse template. I am confidant that in a month I will be able to do this. (at least that is what I am telling myself.) I am excited to see what I can learn and maybe add a new hobby or talent to my repertoire.

Randoms

I have a lot of random pictures that I forgot I had. Most of these were taken between Oct and now.

You will see a theme in some of these as you go. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It is the only show we watch in the morning while I get breakfast ready. She gets so excited when she sees anything Mickey. And don't try to hold her down when the hot dog song comes on or you will get a fit. She dances and laughs during the whole song. So I have decided that this will be the theme of her first birthday. (awww she is going to be one... someone make time stop)
Walking in her cute piggy PJs

Waving bye bye as she carries away her Mickey Mouse box.

Again the theme. They had a sale at the Disney store and she would not let these go. She had such a tight grip that when we got to the checkout the lady grabbed two more so she wouldn't have to take them from Davis.

Her favorite thing is to eat like we do.

This was our last summer bike ride and Davis loved it.

Calm and serene. She is the best!!

She loves to push her pets around in her pram.

More walking...

And More walking...

Halloween

Halloween is so much better with a little baby. Davis was such a goo sport and let me torture her with a big costume and tons of traditions. I found her costume at target ad decided that it just was to regular for our little girl. So we added a sparkly collar, bows on the ears and tail, bracelet around her wrist, and earrings of course. Every puppy needs earrings. I had to work on Friday so Justin took her to our ward trunk or treat. he said it was good but the ground was wet so he just carried her and gt candy.

Saturday We went up to our friends house to trick or treat. I was so excited when their door started ringing and I knew it was close to Davis' first Halloween. We put her in her costume again and she actually did really well and just walked around. I took her to the doors and Justin held the video camera. The first couple doors I just held her so we didn't freak her out right away. She did great and Everyone was so sweet. After the first couple I put her down and she stood there all by herself (I was there with her of course). When the door would open they put the candy bowl down so she could grab her own. Then she would take a couple steps and get her candy. I was shocked she was good she stood there and only grabbed one candy.

I let her hold onto a snickers bar while we were walking. She was just chewing on it and I didn't think that she would be able to break open the wrapper. We had just walked in the door when I realized that she was really sucking the candy. I took it out of her mouth and sure enough there was a hole in the wrapper. To my dismay this was her first experience with candy. It was small but she still had a pretty funny reaction to it. It was about an hour and a half later and the chocolate caused a little bit of a poo-explosion. It has been so long since she has blown out a diaper that it took my totally off guard. I didn't have an extra change of cloths for her to wear. We stripped her down and got her in the bath tub. Every also had a great time laughing at me as I gagged. After her impromptu bath Nicole was sweet and let us use a shirt of hers that we tied in the back so it would stay on. She actually looked really cute walking around in this dress of a shirt. She was also wired for the next little while. When we finally got home she crashed so hard, all I had to do was walk in her dark room and she was out.

It was a great first Halloween. I love my family!

After the chocolate kicked in she was walking around waving her arms and making noise.


Mimicking dad and the sounds he was making. This is her favorite game.

Every so often she gives me this face when I am taking her picture. I think I might be talking to many if she already hates having her picture taken.

Again after the candy kicked in. She was pushing the empty candy bowl around for a while.

Before the chocolate. She was almost out while sitting with me. She was holding the heart on her costume like that the whole time. SO adorable.

Mommy and Puppy.

First Halloween family pic. You can see the bows on the ears really well in this picture. She was such a trooper all night.

Little Eskimo hat. I am actually excited for winter because she has the cutest winter clothes to wear. Thanks you grandma Kristine for all sweet duds.

Before the trunk or treat

This is just a cute picture of her waking up from her nap. She asleep hugging her stuffed animal. She loves to cuddle with her animals and hold them so tight. It melts my heart every time I see her do it.

1st Halloween

This is just a little taste of what Halloween will look like tomorrow.

Our little Beverly Hills St. Bernard

In August we had a stake BBQ. We went and were having a lovely time socializing with friends and eating good food. Davis is usually a dream during things like this because she loves watch people. So when she just out of blue started to freak out and throw a fit I knew something was wrong. A few seconds before I had noticed a wasp flying around so I moved and it went away. Well apparently it didn't go very far because when we were checking to see what was wrong Justin noticed her finger was red a swelling. Sure enough right there in the middle of her index finger was a tiny little prick we she got stung. Not having dwelt with this before we took her right over to the doctor where they checked her and said she was fine. They did tell us that the first sting is not what you have to worry about it actually the second. The doctor also prescribed her some benedryl and Motrin. She didn't really need it but it is nice to have on hand. Poor thing Was crying hard when it happened but was actually pretty happy and normal shortly after. She is a tough cookie.

She sat with Justin at the doctor's office. You can see the swollen index finger.
She was not happy when her toy fell on the floor and we couldn't give back to her.

There is swollen finger. The skin was so red and tight. Poor thing was such a trooper.

Adopt a Kiwi

We love our Kiwi and miss him already. Daniel was here living with us again this summer while he worked for gold medal squared. It was again so great to have him here. It is like being reunited with a family member you haven't seen in a really long time every time he comes back. Over the past four years of us knowing him he has truly become a part of our family and someone both Justin and I greatly admire. You won't find a more loyal, genuinely kind person. He is a person who truly strives to do what is right and is a great example to all that know him. Justin and I are grateful for him and the great decisions he has made and continues to make. Although we are sad to have him far away again we know that it won't be forever.

Davis chillin' with uncle Daniel. Their relationship was a little shacky at first but it did not take long for her to love her adopted uncle. (He even changed one poopy nappy :) )

Arizona

Davis and kandis
Davis asleep with Grandma

She fell asleep before church while sitting with Grandma Debby.

Poor Ruby wanted more Oreos. Judging by the face I think she had enough. Look at those eyes.

Car seat buddies. And yes that is Merricks toy in her mouth.


Flying with Dad. This is right before she fell asleep. Oh it was so nice to
have Justin there. He was such a great helper.

Look out the window before we take off.

I am actually relaxed here instead of being a discombobulated mess. Again thanks to my husband the awesome man.

In Sept. we went as a family to Arizona. Justin's grandpa Hutchins past away after a long full and happy life. He was a great man who's family loved a lot. So it was sad but also happy to see so many family members that we don't see that often. It was the first time since Davis was born that I was going to fly with Justin. Wow it was so much better having another person to help carry all the stuff you have to bring for a baby. I loved traveling with him the whole experience was so much better. She loved looking out the window this time and got so excited when we started to pull away from the gate. And again when we got in the air she fell asleep and slept most of the flight. When Justin's mom picked us up from the airport she had Merrick with her. So Davis got to see her cousin right away and steal his toys right out of his hands. I was so adorable seeing both of them together again in their car seats. While driving home they also exchanged melt downs. Davis would cry which make Merrick cry, which would make Davis cry harder. This game went on for a good 5 miles. The first stop made was... not home... of course In-n-Out burger. Justin's request of course. Justin's cousin Adam and his wife Kandis and their two kids are living with Justin's mom and dad until they close on a house. So it was a full house when we showed with two more kids. Davis jumped right in playing with Lincoln's toys and following Merrick around. She kinda kept up with him but he was a fast crawler. Since the house was so full we actually stayed at Sharisa's house in her parents fifth wheel. Which was more like a motor home. It was probably bigger than our first apartment. It was so nice of them to let to us stay there where it was quiet and Davis could sleep in. I am still amazed at how great of a sleeper Davis is. We go anywhere and she sleeps fine. Even if we throw off her schedule she still sleeps great. She is such a blessing and wonderful baby. She was happy and content to whole vacation being toted around and handled by a ton of different people. She stayed happy on the two hour drive to Prescott and slept great at the hotel. We couldn't have asked for a better temperment in a child.

The next day we drove to Prescott for the funeral. It was a beautiful thoughtful service. They had great collage of pictures from Grandpa's life. It is amazing how much the boys look like the Hutchins side. They also had bowls of peanut M&Ms because that was his favorite candy. Aunt and Julie and Grammy did a great job representing Grandpa. The hotel we stayed at in Prescott was really cool. Davis got to see her cousins Ella and Ruby for the first time. They are the cutest girls and Ruby is a little shadow to Ella. It was also great to see Erica and Richard. They stayed in the room next to us and we could hear the girls at like 4am. The time change from New York was not good.

We drove back to Gilbert that day and had two more days of hanging with the fam. Davis again had a blast being around all the kids and following them around. It was fun getting to know Adam and Kandis better. Kandis is so talented, while we were there she made two adorable dresses for her daughter. They both turned out so cute. We of course watched the BYU v Oklahoma game where BYU started the season with the biggest upset in college football this year. Go Cougs!!!

I am glad that Davis got to spend with her grandma and grandpa Hutchins. She had a great playing with them and Uncle Ty. He is a great uncle and sure knows how keep kids entertained. We are just so glad that we have such a great family who loves us so much and loves our daughter too. I wish we could see them all the time, but for now these quick trips will have to do.

It was a great vacation full of family and great memories of a wonderful man. Bumpa will be greatly missed but we know he is hard at work already.