Fantastic at Four

Four years ago this little bundle of joy joined our family. Mallory has been a blessing from the second we saw her! She is possibly even sweeter than she looks. If all kids were as pleasant, obedient, funny, and kind as her, I might just give Michelle Duggar a run for her money.

Mallory - 1 day old

2 months old

3 months old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

We celebrated by having a combined birthday party with Aunt Annie on Easter day. On her actual birthday on Monday, the kids were off school and Edward was off of work. We spent the day in St. Louis at Krispy Kreme, The Magic House, and Golden Corral - all requests of the birthday girl.

Elizabeth was sweet enough to give her one of her favorite porcelain dolls. I think "Emma" might be Mallory's favorite gift. She hasn't left her arms much this week.

Mallory got a few more toys, books, and outfits. She also got a new bike. She was so cute when she got it! Unfortunately due to all of the rain we've received, she has only been able to ride it indoors.

Happy birthday, Sweet Girl!

Easter 2011

4 Months Old

Little Lucy is 4 months old!

At her check-up today she was 15 lbs. 5 oz. (78th percentile) and 25 inches (65th percentile). So far she is following in Elizabeth's big healthy footsteps. Elizabeth was always the 95th percentile in weight and height, for the next oldest age group! And Mallory was always in the 15th to 25th percentile.

Lucy is such a smiley, happy baby! She is a giggly little thing, too. I often hear sweet cackles coming from the back seat. And she and Mallory have squealing contests. Mallory will shriek and squeal, and then Lucy takes a turn. So cute!

She is very curious and intently watches all of the crazy happenings at our house.
She is usually a slobbery blob because her hands are always in her mouth now. She is trying to put EVERYTHING into her mouth. Time to start making sure the carpets are always clean again!

And her quick little cat-like reflexes have her reaching for everything too!

Crazy Things Heard This Week

*You are not a legend, Mom. (Elizabeth - said when I reminisced about my superb April Fooleries of past years)

*Ross, quit trying to pull an Aaron. (Elizabeth - said when Ross was teasing her)

*Do you think Lucy will be special needs when she gets bigger? (Drew - said because... I don't really know)

*Quick! Somebody grab the cannoli! (Drew - said as we were sitting down to eat homemade cannoli when the tornado sirens sounded)

*You know, when the blood went into my mouth, it tasted kind of like chicken. (Drew - said after a nose bleed)

*What happened to the back of her head? Did an animal bite her? (Woman at church - asking about the bald spot on the back of Lucy's head due to sleeping on her back.)

The Equivalent of a Vacation Slideshow

This is a fair warning that you are about to be inundated with vacation photos!

Edward had a conference in Las Vegas that he invited Lucy and me to accompany him to. We decided that since it was near Salt Lake City, we would make a quick stop there before heading to Vegas. Edward's oldest sister lives with her family a few hours from Salt Lake City, so they met us there. It happened to be the same weekend of our church's semi-annual General Conference. Since General Conference is broadcast live worldwide, children under the age of eight are not allowed to attend. I sent Edward into the conference and gave our nephew my ticket. Our brother-in-law and niece were also able to attend the conference. Jessica and I visited the Visitor's Center and Temple Square with our little ones while the others were in General Conference. Their oldest son, Judson, was such a trooper to help us with the babies.

Lucy's First Airplane Ride



She was SUCH a fantastic traveller! We had cancelled flights, lots of waiting, and lost luggage, and she was so pleasant through it all. We were very grateful.



Edward and Jessica with their babies, Audryn and Lucy

Meeting Audryn for the first time

The Christus at The Visitor's Center on Temple Square

The Salt Lake City Temple

This is where both my parents and Edward's parents were married in the 1970's. It's so beautiful.

The Carle Family with Edward, Lucy, and Me and Andrew Olsen.

Edward's family has recently reconnected with a friend that served his mission in Sikeston when Edward was a little boy. It was a delight to meet him. He was kind enough to take time to meet with us and give us a tour of the church office building. He is the author of a book about the early church pioneers and their extraordinary stories of faith and sacrifice. He generously gave us a copy, and we are excited to get started on it.

Jud and Olivia

Olivia

Judson

Sweet Katrina

Edward

Cutie Audryn

While we were in Salt Lake, we got to spend a few precious hours with my lifelong friend, Dylan, and meet his beautiful, funny, talented family. I'm kicking myself that I didn't take any photos! We haven't seen each other for fourteen years, so it was beyond fabulous to see him again! Dylan was a great friend to me from the day his family moved here when we were in the third grade. He is still the same funny guy I knew way back when!

We left snowy Utah for warm and sunny Las Vegas early Monday morning. We arrived at our hotel, The Palazzo/Venetian and felt a little guilty. It was pretty fancy schmancy! Edward had just a minute to freshen up before he was to report to his conference. Miss Lucy and I met up with my dearest friend, Jessie (her husband is also and American Family Insurance agent) for lunch.

We set out to walk a long The Strip. Um, that was a bit interesting. I certainly felt like a fish out of water! The Strip is a tad bit Sodom and Gomorrish.

This was inside our hotel. It was kind of disorienting.

The gondola was also inside the hotel.

Indiana Jones at Madame Tussauds

Edward and MJ

Walking along The Strip

The Fountains at The Belagio

Paris

Edward's youngest sister, Mary, lives with her husband in the Las Vegas area. She rescued, Lucy, Jessie, and me from the strip one afternoon and introduced us to Red Rock Canyon. It was by far the highlight of my trip to Las Vegas. These pictures cannot begin to represent the breathtaking scenery. It was such a humbling experience to feel the love our Father has for us to create such beautiful things for us to enjoy. I don't even feel like I have the proper words to describe just how amazing Red Rock Canyon is.

Mary Caroline and Lucy

Jessie and Me

This place is massive. The two arrows are pointing to two hikers.

This sweet scenery is just as breathtaking as the canyon.

We had a fun trip, but it was so nice to get home to all of our babies. They were graciously taken care of by my mom, Aunt Cathy, and Andrea.

There's no place like home!