Happy 4th of July! We celebrated by going to the Provo parade, eating lunch at T.G.I.F.'s with Grandpa Whitaker, Diana, Catherine and Jared, and having a BBQ at Grandpa and Grandma Hacking's home. Later that night, we went to yet another BBQ at Eagle Summit with all our neighbors here in Traverse Mountain. Needless to say, we ate way too much food today! We missed the fireworks because Alyssa desperately needed to go to bed, but Will and I celebrated by watching a James Bond movie.
On June 30th, we took Alyssa swimming for the first time at Grandpa Whitaker's community pool. She loved it and kept splashing water in our faces. Will, Diana, and Catherine played other games while Julie and Alyssa warmed themselves in the sun. Will always makes fun of me because I get cold so easily, but it appears Alyssa follows after me in this area. I had to take Alyssa out of the pool because she started shaking and her lips were turning blue. After warming up, I changed Alyssa's diaper, which had about 4 pounds of water in it.
On June 9th, we took Alyssa to Hogle Zoo for the first time. We went in the late afternoon when it was scorching hot and needless to say, most the animals were asleep. Alyssa loves animals, but she wasn't very interested in motionless ones. This giraffe; however, was the only animal we were able to get close to and Alyssa loved it. In fact, Alyssa recently got a stuffed giraffe at Babies R Us and it has become one of her favorite stuffed animals, next to her bear. Alyssa was super fussy at the store as we were trying to pick out her new car seat. I grabbed a stuffed giraffe off the shelf and as soon as she had it in her possession, she hugged it as tight as possible and smiled in delight. When it was time to go, Will tried to put the giraffe back, but Alyssa cried hysterically. Like every dad whose heart melts every time his little girl cries from not getting what she wants, Will gave in and bought her the giraffe. Since then, the stuffed giraffe's neck is now distorted from Alyssa hugging it so much.
On April 20th Linda and Scott were married in the Manti Temple. It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for these two amazing individuals to spend eternity together. Welcome to the family, Scott!
Alyssa Renee Whitaker is turning one on April 5th. She loves to perform and smile for the camera, showing off her only two adorable bottom teeth. Recently, Alyssa was measured and is now in the 98th percentile for height and the 6th percentile for weight. She is officially our little string bean!
