Swing, swing. swing

Well, not to brag to all of you who are not in Texas, but weather here has been quite beautiful. I have posted a few of our outings to parks and what not!! I can't wait to take my Lilly to the pool this summer. We went to the park with Kelly and Bella and had so much fun!! Lilly had her first ride in a swing!!! I will try and get some Easter pics up really soon. I hope all is well with all of you.

She Moves!!!!

Well hello!!! Well my sweet adorable child is officially crawling!!! She also is becoming quite skilled at pulling up on anything she can get a grip on!!! I can't believe it. She has grown up so much in the last two weeks!!! She also has two cute little teeth! As evidenced by the lack of sleep we all have sustained due to this teething process!!! But my Lilly is a trooper and mommy and daddy are trying to be as well!!!

Longest post EVER!!!!

Alright!!! This is a BIG post!!! Lilly is growing by leaps and bounds and we are just trying to keep up!!! I wanted to show all the new things she is doing. She can pull herself up to a standing position, almost crawl, and sit up all by herself. She is getting so big and her personality is coming out. It is so much fun to watch her grow and develop. We of course are very proud parents and love her more than she will ever know!!! Hope ya'll enjoy!!!

Ist time eating her veggies - PEAS!

Lilly standing by herself! Super strong quads!

HILARIOUS - she is not liking the green beans

Jumping in the Jumparoo!

Attempting to crawl - almost there!

Farewell President Gordon Bitner Hinckley 1910-2008

Liana & I just finished watching the funeral services for President Gordon B. Hinckley, the Lord's prophet & 15th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wrote an entry in my journal & felt that I should write a few passages here.

"...He has truly been my prophet, the prophet of my generation. I was too young to appreciate President Hunter and President Benson, & too young to even remember President Kimball... When I first heard of his passing last Sunday night, I was shocked but didn't cry. Only now, as I watch the funeral & really ponder my love for President Hinckley, are tears streaming down my face. I will truly miss him. I love him so deeply & dearly. He has inspired me & captivated my attention like no other. He has given his life to the Lord, the members of the church, & the people of the world. I hope I can dedicate my life, in some small degree, as he has... As I watch on the internet, the procession is arriving at the cemetary. They are saying this is the first day in a while that the sun is shining so brightly in Salt Lake City & not overcast & snowing. I am confident the Lord is shining his light to show us all that He is with us today... My sweet daughter Lilly is playing on the floor here next to me w/ Liana. She brings so much joy to me, even in this time of sorrow. What a contrast of emotion & life events... I saw president Hinckley in person 6 times, 5 of which I can remember details & some specifics. Twice I saw him at BYU devotionals. I remember at one of them, when he was leaving, he started waving to all of the students in the Marriott Center. He stopped & turned back & forth,waving from section to section. Each section individually waved back at him - it became almost a game for a few minutes :) ... I also saw him twice at General Conference... I also saw him at a much smaller gathering, at the dedication of Brigham Square in June 2002, a part of BYU campus just out front of the Wilkenson Center. It was a hot summer day, & I remember him saying "maybe this should have been more appropriately named Sunburn Square" :) ... The last time I saw him in person was so special. I was an usher at the New Mission President Seminar in June 2005, the last of my 38 months of working at the Missionary Training Center. Grant LaBarbera, my childhood friend, was in charge of a lot of the organization of the conference. He strategically positioned me at the very front entrance of the MTC. I saw pretty much all of the Quorum of the 12 apostles enter before President Hinckley came in. I was smiling from ear to ear as he came in & waived to the few of us who were there! The Spirit of the Lord walked with him & I remember feeling it as I was truly in awe... I want to bear my testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God & it is guided by prophets & revelators who possess the true, restored priesthood authority of God."

We will never forget his legacy of families, temple work, missionary work, and his charges to be a little better & to work a little harder.

Lilly Loo Hoo!!!

My Lillian is growing up so fast!!! And getting cuter by the day!!! She is expressing her opinions and lets you know if she is unhappy or when she wants something. I have included a video with her first taste of rice cereal. She loved it!!! She is rolling all over the place and trying so hard to move in any direction. I'm trying to crack down on her sleeping. I have spoiled her and consequently I am still not getting sleep. So we are trying to be a little bit more structured in our sleeping. Thus far I feel like it has back fired, but I have been assured by my sisters that I need to keep on keeping on!!! This mommy stuff isn't for the faint of heart. It is hard work. But it is my favorite kind of work!!! I love my little girl so much!!! Hope you all enjoy the pics & video.


Smiles
I love this little sweater, she looks so grown up!
My little fuzz head
What'sup!!!
Humoring mommy with a little smile
My beautiful
Playing, playing, playing
Smiling up at her daddy
My little darling!!!

Well, I decided to do some more pics from Christmas. I added some from our Christmas here in Texas prior to our visit to my parents house. We have had such a wonderful holiday season!!! We have been sickies here this past week, we are hoping to recover soon. I'm sick of coughing I must say!! Hope everyone is doing well!! I got a chance to watch one of the DVD's that we got for Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Skousen's videos. What a treat!!! I love my family and I'm so grateful for pictures and videos to capture the things we would otherwise only have a faint memory of. Love to you all!!!


Brandon, Collin and Lillian Christmas morning
I just thought this pic was too cute!! Nick with Reid This cracked me up. They parked themselves in the middle of the kitchen floor!!!
Adorable little men!!!!
Lilly eyeing the bread basket!!
Having fun in her exer-saucer

She loves her Daddy
Fun with GG!!!
She loves to play with these huge cups!!
Lilly and Grand-dad

Happy New Year!!!

What a wondeful Christmas we had!! We had an awesome time at my parents house celebrating Christmas and the New Year. This year was different because we had little Lillian here with us. As I look at her, I feel like I get a little glimpse of heaven on earth and it warms my heart and reminds me of a little child born into very humble circumstances. I'm so grateful for how very blessed we are. We live in a wonderful country and both Collin and myself were lucky enough to be born into homes full of love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks to both our families for making this Christmas so incredibly wonderful!!!!

Sleeping safely in Grandpa's arms! This was taken after midnight on New Year's!! My little one is a night owl!!!
Lillian's first trip to the swimming pool

She was so sleepy she fell asleep just sitting in mommy's arms!!
My angel
Reading Preach My Gospel with daddy
In her cute new boots her Aunt Courtney sent all the way from Paris!!
Lounging in front of the Christmas tree!!!

Playtime with Aunt Laurel, Olivia and Nadia!!! Christmas morning!!! Wonderful chaos!!!!
Just being cute!
Playing with daddy in the pool