Shout Hooray!

Eventually I'll get around to posting about Christmas, but as there's so much going on this week, who knows when? Christmas, Alexa's birthday, our anniversary, all within a few days of each other!

Alexa turned one yesterday. Wow, I just can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday that she was just a little bundle of cuddles, and now she doesn't stay still long enough to cuddle! This past year has been wonderful. We are so lucky to have Alexa in our family, and can't imagine it without her!

We had to resort to giving her a cupcake because she was so shy about digging into the cake. She finally got around to eating the cupcake, but it took quite awhile. So the pictures are in reverse order, but pretend they're right, ok?

A Non-Christmas Related Post

In honor of her upcoming birthday (and the fact that she's totally outgrown her infant seat) we got Alexa a new car seat. She was a little weirded out that she was facing the wrong way!
And not only was it a car seat that she got, but also a box! Woohoo!! I have plans to get some spray paint and make it look like a cute little house.

Also, since we always just carried her in her car seat, this was the first time she sat in a cart while we were shopping. This whole trip she just sat there gripping the bar in front of her. Since then, she's loosened up and keeps trying to climb out of the cart.

She has taken her first steps, and is fully capable of walking, but is too chicken to actually do it. We're getting there though. Pretty soon she's going to be running circles around me and it'll be even harder to make sure she doesn't get into things that she shouldn't be!

Alexa's first snow

So, it wasn't really the first time that it's snowed since Alexa was born, but it was the first time this season, and the first time we let her play in it. She wasn't very impressed...

She made her first snow angel on our car... and yes, it really does look like Mickey Mouse. She wouldn't put her head back or her legs down.

Snape Snape Severus Snape...

Two things. First off, this movie is amaaaazing! Second, movies are so cheap in Oregon!

Weird child...

So I was doing something on the computer and saw this:

Apparently she doesn't like the label as mommy's little alarm clock?

All is Right Again

So, for the past few weeks I've been working because basically, the economy out here is terrible and Mike couldn't find a job. Needless to say, I was not very happy to leave my baby and husband all day to work retail again (ugh). But, thankfully, Mike found a job this weekend! Nothing great by any means, but a job with 40 hrs a week and higher paying than mine certainly was! So, I got to quit yesterday, which was perfect timing because yesterday was just a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. So, in honor of being a stay at home mom again, here are some cute pictures of Alexa:

(By the way, ponytails? Total pain in the rear. It's next to impossible to do her hair without her squirming to try to see whats going on up there.)

Thanks for noticin' me.... :)

Halloween Festivities

Normally we don't do a whole lot for Halloween, just carve pumpkins and hand our candy. This year, being around family and having Alexa be able to enjoy her first Halloween we did a lot more. We went to a pumpkin patch and did a corn maze:
We went to our church's Trunk or Treat on the 29th. Alexa enjoyed her spoils very much:

We dressed up and went to Grandma's house for cider and doughnuts after things quieted down Sunday night:

We handed out candy to Trick or Treaters and Alexa greeted them as a cow:

And were worn out by all the partying and sugar crashes:

Which is quite different from how we started the day off:

And of course we had carved the pumpkins from the farm we went to:

Mike came up with the theme all on his own. And sorry for the random order of the pictures, I don't really think out what I'm going to say and what order I need to upload them in.... and then it's just a pain to reorder it all. Anyways, we had a great Halloween, and were so glad that Alexa was here to share it! I can't wait until next year when she can walk up to doors and say "Trick or Treat"!

Welcome!

Welcome into our home! This is what you'd see walking in (ignore the bookshelf, it was a casualty of the move and we haven't figures out what to do with it yet).
This is looking into the front room from the end of the entry:

This wall isn't finished, the couch needs a slipcover, and the pictures aren't hung yet, but just imagine them hung the same way as they were in Wymount.

We love how much bigger this front room is than the Wymount apartment. Alexa can crawl around without having to go in circles, and when we play the wii there's plenty of room to move around. So that's almost half the house!

Home Sweet Home

So, we have finally moved in to our house, and for the most part have started making it into a real home. I'm working on finishing it one room at a time so that I can blog about it little by little. Today's feature is the kitchen! The entry is slightly odd, as you'll see. This picture is from the wall that separates the kitchen from the entry way:
This is from the garage door:

That wall with the banisters is the entryway wall. That's why it's kind of weird, I've seen houses where there is no wall separating the entry from the kitchen and I've seen houses where there are complete walls, never one where it's a partial wall like that.

A close up of the counters (aaaah, counter space!).

I love my Halloween decorations :)

And that's the kitchen! Next up, the front room!

Slacker...

So, I meant to update with this last week.... and then didn't. I don't have a good excuse, I'm just lazy, I guess! This was Alexa's first "injury", at least the first time that she hurt herself and it left a mark. (In case you can't tell, there's a bruise right above her eye). She's going to be walking really soon, I think. She's been trying to stand without holding onto anything, which is how she got this bruise.
Still no news on the job front, but if all goes as planned, we will be in our house tomorrow! Wish us luck!

Swing Swing

Today we took Alexa to a nearby park, and she had a ball. We were pretty sure she'd love the swing, and she certainly did! In this picture she's actually laughing hysterically.
It's hard to get a good picture while trying to get her to smile at the camera.... hopefully I'll get better at that.

Mike was excited to take her on the slide.

Also, we also took her on the spinny thing... it's not a merry-go-round, it's just a flat thing that has handles and you sit on it and spin. I have no idea what they're called, but they're a lot of fun. We also took her on the teeter-totter, see-saw, whatever you prefer to call it. She like them both as well, but as I was participating, I couldn't take pictures.

Labor Day Weekend

So first I have to apologize for the lack of posting, I just haven't felt like it since there have been no updates in either the job search (although Mike does have an interview tomorrow) or in the house department....

For Labor Day the whole Bevan's family always goes camping on the coast for the weekend. The first evening Mike, Alexa and I were all ahead of the pack so we stopped by our first beach of the weekend. Alexa loved it even though it was freezing cold and she was wrapped up in a blanket the whole time.

No pictures of the second beach, but this is the beach we hit up on our way back to Eugene. Mike lost his phone on this beach, but luckily someone found it and turned it in to a nearby campground and the rangers called a bunch of people on Mike's phone trying to get in contact with him. When we got it back it didn't even look like it had been in the sand.

And last but not least, Alexa enjoys smushing her face into the side of the pack n play, which makes for some very fun faces.

Goodbyes

I don't like goodbyes. In fact, I kind of hate them. This weekend, therefore, has not been fun (Not that saying goodbye has been the only thing to make it so). We're moving tomorrow, so yesterday a bunch of good friends came and helped us pack the truck and clean the apartment.

So now this is what we're living like. Mike and I are sleeping in the main room, to be by the AC, in a sleeping bag, which by the way, is ridiculously uncomfortable. Wymount apparently thinks padding between the cement and carpet is an unnecessary luxury. Alexa has been loving the lack of furniture because since there's nothing for her to get into, she can crawl pretty much anywhere she wants.

Thus ends a huge chapter in our lives. College, engagement, marriage, our first child; all have happened here in Provo. This apartment has been our home for 2 years, and we've made many good friends here. It's sad to go, but exciting to move on and enter "real life", or as a couple of friends say, become "real people".

Get Ready to Cry

Hopefully this will work, I'm just copying a link that a facebook friend put up. Warning: Have tissues ready!



http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=455621345922&ref=m

Poor girl!

Look at this little angel.
This poor little girl gets blamed for so many things. Have you ever seen that commercial (I think it's for diapers) where it's the baby's 1st birthday and he gets a sock puppet? He then proceeds to tell his parents some major problems with their parenting- "Dad stop blaming me for the gas, so not cool" and "Mom, if my diapers sagged anymore I wouldn't be able to move" or something along those lines. It's a funny commercial, especially when you realize the truth of it.

Alexa gets blamed for:

Her father's gas (I know, right?)
Her father's mistakes when playing video games with friends online
Stains, oh the stains. Carpets, couches, clothing, although many of the stains really are from her.
Her mother's laziness in not getting showered and dressed before about 2pm most days
Making us miss things because she's grumpy or tired (very convenient)
Her mother's dumb moments (oh, sorry, the baby was up late last night...)
Her mother never doing more than wearing her hair in a ponytail anymore

And I'm sure there are more things the poor kid gets blamed for, but I'm sure the day will come all too soon when she can defend herself. ("Dad! That was NOT me!") She's already growing up waaaay too fast! She's crawling like a champ and pulls herself to standing on pretty much any available surface. She can even put herself in a sitting position from laying down. I'm pretty impressed with her.

And, thanks to those of you who took the survey for me. And don't worry, like I said, it's about usage, so you're not being judged on right or wrong, it was more just to see how many people used the standard and how many people used the technical. If you happen to want to know what the "correct" answers are anyways, let me know!

Who wants to help?

So, I'm taking an English Language class that is primarily about usage. For this class I need to get people to take a couple of surveys through out the class, and it's best when the people aren't all from the same place/age group/etc. so I thought that putting them up here would get me a good range. So, if you don't mind and have a spare minute- literally, it will only take a few minutes- please take this one for me. Also, please email me your responses instead of putting it as a comment so that your answers don't influence anyone else and their potential answers. Hopefully I don't get a bunch of spam from this, but here's my email address: snowanglp (at) hotmail.com Thanks so much everyone!

1. The quarterback played______ today. A) good B) well
2. If I_______ to win the lottery I would buy a new house. A) was B) were
3. The reason I am tired is _____ I stayed up too late last night. A) because B) that
4. I feel _____ that you didn't get to go to the party last night. A) bad B) badly
5. Hey, _____ I use your car tonight? A) may B) can
6. His vote on that issue is different ____ mine. A) from B) than

Virginia!

So I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Virginia, so be forewarned that there are ridiculous amounts pictures in this post.

Alexa has started sleeping with her rear in the air.
Alexa's first drive, and she loved it!

Alexa with various family members:

At Chuck E Cheese (that was exciting...)

And lastly, with the cousins.

The sad thing? I was there a week, and these are pretty much all the pictures that I took. I'm terrible. But we had a great time, and although I really wish Mike had been able to come, I'm so glad that Alexa and I were able to go and she could meet the rest of my family.

In other news, since we still have no job, it's looking like we'll move to Oregon after graduation.