Happy Halloween!!!

Everyone can thank Nikki's sister Maria for these pictures. We didn't have a costume for Allie due to hectic schedules and Nikki being sick recently. When we told Maria that we didn't have anything to dress Allie up in, she called us lame (in a very loving manner). Here's what we came up with. It's fitting since we always call Allie, "Pumpkin."

A Little bit of Allie's Laughter

Allie has been laughing for quite awhile, now. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to catch it on camera. This is for a few reasons: 1) Whenever she sees the camera, she gets interested in it and forgets about what was making her laugh. 2) She has a funny sense of humor. She'll think something is funny once; if you repeat something that really got her laughing before, she'll look at you and maybe smile, but not laugh like before. It's actually kind of funny because random things will make her laugh. Both Mommy and Daddy, but especially Mommy, will make all types of sounds and faces just in attempt to make Allie laugh. Some things that prove successful, most of the time, are shaking her legs, shaking her arms, a new crinkly page book, and beeping in tune to ode to joy (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A to see where we got the idea - we imitate Beaker from the Muppets). After many attempts to get her laughing on film, this is what we have to share.

First is just two pictures of her with her new toy, the book with crinkly pages, with a sound bite of her laughing. The other day we went to Walmart and decided to check out the baby toy aisle. We knew she liked thinks that crinkle, so when we saw the book, we thought we would hold it up in front of her to see if she would like it. She started cracking up. She was still laughing pretty good when we got the cell phone out to record her laughing. So here it is:

On occasion we will let Allie watch some Baby Einstein videos on YouTube. She likes the Baby Mozart, Beethoven, and Galileo videos. She seems to enjoy the music, lights, and especially when they show anything with smiley faces. Here is a little clip of her watching the Galileo video. She laughs at a little kangaroo.

Visitors!!

The last month and a half brought us several visitors. We have enjoyed having friends and family visit us! First, Nikki's good friend Becky Lee came to visit over the Labor Day weekend. It was really fun and nice to have her here. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures from her time here. She got to hear Allie's second laugh and hold her a bit. We really wish we had gotten pictures of her and Allie together; we'll make sure we do next time. Thanks for visiting us, Becky!!! We really loved having you!

In the middle of September, Nikki's brother Monte stayed with us a few days. He was making his way across the country to go to school in Georgia and he planned his trip so that he could visit us in Rexburg. It was especially neat having him since we aren't sure when we will get to see him again.

Here's a picture of Allie enjoying watching Monte on the internet.

Nikki took a day off of work to have more time with Monte. They and Allie went to Mesa Falls. It was really beautiful. They had to explain that Nikki and Monte are brother and sister and not husband and wife quite a few times. It was kind of funny. It was also funny that, other than a few kids and Allie, Monte and Nikki were the youngest by a few decades. Mesa Falls has upper and lower falls. The lookout for the lower falls was pretty far from the falls, but still very beautiful.

Here are a few pictures of the lower falls.

Monte at the Lower Mesa Falls

The three at the Lower Falls. Sorry about the bottles blocking some of the falls.

Down river from the Upper falls

You could get a lot closer to the Upper Falls. It was such a beautiful day to be at such a beautiful location.

Nikki and Allie at the Upper Falls

The three at Upper Mesa Falls

Monte and Allie

Monte and Allie in the car ready to make the drive home

Thanks for coming our way, Monte!! We love you!

We had a full apartment this last weekend when Nikki's brother Nathan, his wife Mara, and their three kids, Hailee, Caidance, and Cole stayed with us. Mara's family had a busy weekend that included a sealing in the temple and a baby blessing, but we really enjoyed the time that we had with them. They were so kind and invited us to a dinner after the baby blessing on Saturday night. Here are some cute pictures of the kids.


Allie and her 7 1/2 month old cousin Cole

Allie's beautiful cousins Hailee (5) and Caidance (3)

Pajama Party!! The four little ones... Aren't they adorable?!

It really was wonderful having everyone visit us. We are so grateful for our friends and family! We love you all!