Novermber

New Year!

I can't believe it's been so long since I added anything to this blog!
Well Aliya has grown up so much, she's not a baby anymore-she definitely a toddler, she tries to do things herself, throws tiny tantrums, and communicates with words and sign language.
As of right now she can say:
Mama
Daddy
Mat! (Bath)
Yah
Hi!
No or NoNo (especially when she starts doing something she knows she's not supposed to, but keeps doing it anyway she'll say it to herself)
Beary (her stuffed bear) but she says Beayyy because she can't say her R's yet
Puppy
Milk (kindof)

She signs "All done" "Pick me up" and "food" and she seems to understand just about everything I ask her and has opinions about all of it.

She loves being outside, and testing out the snow and she has a big bonk on her forehead from a slow motion fall off a curb during one of our outings to explore the church parking lot.

We took her sledding for the first time and Ryan (being the Californian that he is) fell on top of her and pushed her face into the snow for another owie...but she is such a happy and easy to please baby. She rarely complains, but she is also a little spoiled (Mama can't quite wean her yet)

 

We've started having church at 1pm which has been hard for all of us:

For Christmas we went to Dallas to spend time with the whole McAdam clan for a week, which afterwards we all decided was a bit too long :),  but we had a great time while we were there. The weather was warm (45 degrees) and we ate lots of good food and Aliya loved playing with her cousins and her uncles and Grandmama and Papa!

Outside of Babe's- Classic Southern comfort Food

Aliya loves dancing- especially to Olivia's record player!

Hanging out with her favorite McAdam Aunt

She was great on the plane (but we lost her pink boots)

Reed and Aliya conspiring to escape at Red Lobster

Halloween and Birthdays!

August-December

June and July

 Check out the grease on those knuckles! It has been a good summer and we have done a lot of fun things together, when I look back on it we have had a great time!  After Tyler left Kathryn after only 3 weeks of marriage she came to live with us. Aliya made sure to help her study and we all had a good time. 

 We bought a pool and Aliya learned how to splash (and how to flash the neighbors)

We went on a gorgeous hike from makeout point to the point just north of Squaw peak. We saw rattlesnakes, giant wasps, horned toad lizards, and it was just all around gorgeous!

We went to the freedom festival and watched the balloons take off. The pig balloon in the background made a crash landing which was pretty crazy but everyone was ok!

Then Grandma and Grandpa Hanks came down and we hiked squaw peak on the 4th of July-it was a beautiful hike!

 The next week Aliya and I rode the bus to Rexburg and went to yellowstone camping with Amy-that was an adventure.  The bus ride was pretty long-but marginally better than driving....once I made it on the bus that is...First we nearly missed the bus due to a flat tire and ineffective inflation systems at the 7-eleven, then customer service told me the wrong place to catch the bus at the airport and I'm sitting at the wrong terminal with a baby, carseat and 3 big bags, then I nearly got left at the gas station in Ogden because the bus driver didn't see me get off the bus at the pit stop and I have to chase the bus with the baby in my hands...phew it was crazy, but Yellowstone was amazing and Aliya was as cute as ever! Ryan stayed home to work...

 Grandmama bought Aliya her first pair of walking shoes...oooh arent' they cute!

 Aliya celebrates her pioneer heritage with a bonnet (made from a diaper)

Fortunately as Aliya grows her dependence on us for food is decreasing as she is successfully foraging for her own food and loves eating cherry tomatoes (three at a time)

    
Also it's good we got our time in Utah while we  could as it appears that Utah will be closed for a while (LDSliving.com)