Christmas Card Photo Shoot

We had family pictures taken for our Christmas cards and I think they turned out rather cute, if I do say so myself. I know there are lots of pictures, but I just thought I would post them all instead of trying to decide my favorites.

Temple Square

One of the traditions that my husband and I have is going to Temple Square to see the lights each year. Of course we have this incredibly warm winter and then of course the one day that the weather decides to turn super super cold and snow 12 inches.... this is the day we decide to go see the lights. What were we thinking? So we get to temple square and the boys are all bundled up, looking cuter then ever. And we had such a blast. We went with Grandma Gaye, Grandpa Randy, Heather and our really good friends Drew, Sarah and John. Here are just a few pictures to show just how cold it really was that night.

Lara Lue all decked out in her winter wardrobe

Eli and his daddy trying to warm up in the visitor center

Eli and John all bundled up.... trying to stay warm. Don't they look so cute?

John Parsons (Eli's Best Friend)

Eli Boy Boy

Santa's Lap

Eli wasn't so sure about sitting on Santa's lap, but he didn't cry, which was good. He just looked at him like he was crazy. It was very funny. Last year he was so young that he didn't really much care and this year, I thought for sure he was going to start screaming, but he just sat there and stared at him.

Black Friday

So I know I am only about a month late on this post, but I really just had to tell the story and post this oh so adorable picture of Eli. I hate black Friday, and if you know me, you know that I absolutely hate shopping. But, my mother in law loves to shop and with the economy the way that it is, I was more then okay trying to hit some of the amazing deals that they have for Christmas items. Well when we first discussed it, Matt was going to stay home with Eli and I was going to go shopping with the girls, but then when it came right down to it, Matt wanted to go hit Best Buy and a few other electronic stores, So I decided to take Eli with me.....yeah, I know, how rude is that.... But look how cute he is? So at 4:30 in the morning, we take off to go shopping and I have about the most amazing son ever. He was so good.We put two big fluffy pillows in the bottom of the cart and then laid him down on his blanket. He looks pretty comfortable huh? I may enjoy shopping more if I could shop the way that Eli does. So, here is the story. I just had to share this cute picture and exciting morning that Eli and I had.

Sorry Sorry Sorry

So, I know I have not posted for the longest of time, but seriously.... the holidays are crazy. I love this time of year, I really do. But it seems that I never really even have to minutes to sit down. So my promise is that over the next week there will be many many many new posts to read. All about our fun adventures and holiday endeavors. Check back soon, check back often and I hope you all enjoy.

Eli's First Haircut!!!

I apologize to all my bloggin buddies. Things have been a little bit crazy lately and I have not had much time to blog. Hopefully in the next night or two I will be able to catch up on a few posts.

Eli had his first haircut.... (Not quite sure why I decided to do it, you can't even tell a difference), but his hair was starting to hang down over his ears and it was bugging me, so we had my sister cut it. As you can plainly see from the pictures, he hated it.... ALOT. I will probably hold off cutting it again for awhile. Like I said before, you can't even tell. But here are a few precious pictures to document his mother torturing him.

Eli saying Hi to everyone!!!

Disney on Ice

So a week or so ago we took Eli to Disney on Ice. We went with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and Aunt Carol and Haley and Janis. Aunt Jill and Liam were able to come with us to. It was so much fun. I haven't been to a Disney on Ice for about 5 years, maybe more. I really don't remember. Well anyways, he was such a big boy. He sat through almost the hole thing and was so well behaved. He watched to the show and clapped and even danced to some of the songs. He made it tell about the last 15 minutes of the show and then he fell asleep, but for a one year old, I didn't think that was bad at all. Well anyways, it was a great family night out and we had lots of fun with a few others from our family.

Haley and Janis showing off their crowns that they got for souvenirs.

Eli in his cute crown!!!

The reenactment of the Main Street Electrical Parade from Disneyland.

Disney on Ice's version of its a small world

A small portion of the 'Finding Nemo' part of the show

I love this picture!!!

There is nothing really significant about this picture. I just really think that it is very cute and thought I would share his cuteness with my blogging buddies. There are so many things that I love about this Boy. I love his giggle. I love the way he is so curious about everything. I love that he is a really quick learner. I love the way that he cuddles in my arms and fits perfectly in my arms. His daddy loves that he smiles really big everytime he gets home from work and this makes his daddys day. I love how he does this funny thing with his face where he blinks his eyes and opens and closes his mouth while bobbing his head up and down... seriously the cutest thing ever. I will try to catch some video of it. I love it when he says "whats that" to almost everything and when he says "mama" and "dada" but mostly he says "Lara"... not even kidding. How unfair is that? I love how he is growing into a little boy and is starting to gain an opinion of his own. I love the way he usually listens to his mom when she tells him to leave something alone, or when she asks him to do something. I love the way he trys to find his hat.... no matter where it is hidding. All in all... there are so many things I love about this little boy that this list could go on forever. Mommy and Daddy love you Eli!!!

Happy Birthday Eli!!!

So I am kinda torn. Did any one else feel super emotional when their first child turned one. I was so sad, and happy at the same time. It is really good to see how big he is getting and how smart he is. I love him so much and he is by far the greatest and blessing that Matt and I have ever had. Well anyways, enough the mushy stuff. Today was a great day. We had so much fun and Eli well..... The pictures will tell the story.

We wanted to go with a monkey theme for his birthday, because Eli... well he is about about as monkey as they come. So, Grandma Gaye, being the amazing wonderful grandma that she is, totally lived it up with this theme. When we first got there, this cute little jacket was hanging on her front door for Eli. It is a Curious George jacket and he looks so cute in it.


So we helped to set up a few more decorations. We had brought a banner that said Happy 1st birthday and we had brought some party hats and noise makers. Grandma had bought some balloons ( Which Eli had a blast with by the way). And then the party began.

This is Eli and John showing off their cute party hats. Eli was struggling to keep his on, he was not loving it, but eventually he did leave it alone for a little bit.

This is Uncle Justin and Eli just looking cute for a picture.


Daddy had fun helping Eli to open all of his presents. He was very spoiled. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME TO HIS PARTY AND MADE THIS SUCH A SPECIAL DAY FOR HIM. I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE WOULD BE WITHOUT ALL OF YOU. WE SEND OUR LOVE TO ALL OF YOU. Another picture of Eli with some of his gifts.

Aunt Heather and Aunt Taylor got Eli this very cute Build-a-bear... well actually a build-a-monkey, but same concept. You couldn't tell that we like Batman around our house at all, could ya. Well anyways, Eli loved this monkey and was very fascinated with it. He loves to hold on to it when he is trying to go to sleep. Thank you Aunt Heather and Taylor.

This is Eli's birthday cake. It took me all morning, but it was so perfect and it was really fun to make. I know this picture doesn't look like much, but believe me, it was everything we could do to keep Eli from diving into the monkey long enough to take a picture of him with it.


So I know that Eli definitely didn't need to cakes, because the raised part on the monkey that has the "E" on it was suppose to be the part we took of and put the candle in for him to blow out and then dig into, but Albertsons gives you a free 1st birthday cake so we decided, since it was free, why not use it too. So this is why Eli ended up with two cakes. So this is the way the cake started......

This is Eli enjoying his cake.........

And this was what we ended up with at the end. Needless to say, Eli was not shy at all when it came to eating his cake the proper way that a one year old should. He knew exactly what to do.

This is a picture of Eli's Great Grandma Hatch holding Zander.
He is Eli's newest cousin. Isn't he a cutie.

This is my cute little boy all cleaned up and wearing a pair of his new pajams that Great Grandma gave to him. Justin and him are having fun playing with some of his new toys.

Drew, Sarah, and John gave Eli this Car's Car. As the picture plainly shows, he really liked it. Every time they come over, the boys have a tendancy to fight over this one particular toy of John's but now they both have one. We will see if that fixes the problem, but I have my doubts. Boys will be boys. They just want what someone else has. Thanks again for the Car guys. He loves it.