Easter 2013

I got crafty for my nieces and nephews :)

This Easter came and went so quickly it seems!  I am having a hard time catching up since the March Madness (St. Patrick's dinner party, Easter, etc) that we experienced.  Easter was a lot of fun this year.  We Skyped with Aunt Bean, Uncle Chris, Uncle Tim, Belle and Sophia Saturday morning, then spent the afternoon at the Sanders house.  We swam, ate, and hunted for Easter eggs (Bean chose to swim through that part).  

On Sunday, the Easter Bunny brought some goodies for Makaila!  We went up the canyon to see Grandy and Gramps speak in church, then came home, napped, and opened up our Easter baskets.  That evening, we went to dinner at Great-Grammy and Grandpa's house, then managed a quick call with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop before bedtime.  It was a busy, busy day!  

Here are the pics we took:

Having fun at the Sanders.  This is her new smile for the camera

Giving kisses to her book in her Easter dress

Checking out the basket before church

New favorite book

A Look at 2012

2012 has treated this Baker family well.  We have experienced a lot of "firsts" in our family this year.  Makaila grew from this...

...to this.

She went from crawling for the first time,

to taking her first steps.

Kaila ate solid food for the first time,

And said her first words.

Trip ran his first obstacle course race (see this post for more) and got to see two of his young men from Malaysia leave to serve missions, which was a first as well.

I also ran my first race ever (more can be seen here), and attended a mission reunion for the first time in 4 years.  We took Makaila camping at Lake Powell for the first time (more about this to come), and we stopped at Zions Canyon on our way home.

Dan was the first out of my brothers to get married, and that made Alyssa (whom we love!) our first Doxey sister-in-law!

Trip and I went river rafting on Provo River for the first time with Dan and Alyssa this summer (unfortunately we don't have any pictures, just fond memories).  Makaila turned 1!  

She went to the aquarium for the first time...

we went to a pumpkin patch.

 We took family pictures for the first...

January 2012

second (click here to see more)...

April 2012

and third time this year!

November 2012

We sent out our first Christmas cards as a family.

Makaila had her first Easter,

Valentine's Day,

St. Patrick's Day,

Fourth of July,

and Halloween.

Our first nieces were born!  

Bean experienced her first snow.

She will also get to see the lights at Temple Square for the first time this year.

This picture is from Scott Sanders

We have been truly blessed and are forever grateful for the unique experiences, gifts, and love that each and every one of our family members and friends brings into our lives.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

Thanksgiving 2012

Ever since we got married, Trip and I have tried to cook our own Thanksgiving meal, and then meet up with family for dessert (at least when we are in Utah).  Obviously, when we have stayed with others, and when we were in Malaysia, we did things differently.  This Thanksgiving weekend, we were able to enjoy a delicious meal, visit both sets of Great-grandparents, and get our Christmas decorations up.  It was a fun weekend spent enjoying our time together as a family. 

Anxious to eat

Doing prayer hands

Learning bad begging habits from Captain Jack

Wearing Dad's dog-tags after eating Thanksgiving dinner

Cuddling and singing with Dad at Great-grammy's house

Swinging with Gramps

Helping me untangle the lights

One of Makaila's favorite books is "Pat the Bunny", so this ornament was by far her favorite