Will, Julie, and Alyssa (1 and 1/2 Yrs. Old)

I thought it would be fun to post all of the professional pictures taken of Alyssa and our family since she was born. Oh, and I'm going to add that her hair was cute and curly when we arrived at the studio for these pictures, but somehow it didn't stay that way...

Alyssa- 6 Months Old

Alyssa in Blessing Dress- 3 Months Old

Alyssa- One Week Old

These pictures were taken by Skye Johansen and I would highly recommend her to anyone. Her website is http://www.skyejohansen.com/.

Alyssa's Hospital Picture

Nicole Christine Whitaker

Here is a profile ultrasound picture of Nicole taken on March 12th. She is due on July 30th and we can hardly wait for her arrival!

Alyssa's 2nd Birthday!

For Alyssa's 2nd birthday we had Will's family over for lunch in between sessions of General Conference and my side of the family after the second session for dinner. Alyssa was spoiled with lots of toys and attention. We had decorated flower cupcakes with Will's family and as you can see in one of the pictures, Alyssa decorated one of her new baby dolls with her cupcake! I made a sheep cake to have with my side of the family and it turned out pretty cute! We are so grateful to have Alyssa in our lives and feel so blessed Heavenly Father would allow us to be with her forever.

Alyssa's First Haircut

Alyssa had her very first haircut on April 2nd! The only reason Alyssa held so still was because Coryn, our hair stylist, put Baby Einstein on in front of Alyssa. It is amazing how a simple trim could make her look so much older. I also saved a piece of Alyssa's hair for her scrapbook.

Easter Sunday

On Easter we went to Grandpa Whitaker's home for dinner and afterwards we walked around the park by Grandpa's home. There was a black dog that kept bugging Will to throw a ball around. Alyssa went up to the dog and hugged it (see the third picture down), which was so cute! She is so loving. Alyssa is so good at expressing her love for people and objects. She'll say, "I love you tree, I love you triangle, I love you mommy, I love you daddy, I love you Einstein..." She also gives people and objects hugs and kisses. The other day while she was in the bathtub she kissed the letter D from her alphabet bath toys and said, "D kiss." She then continued to kiss other letters.

Easter Egg Hunt

Sara and Timo invited Alyssa over for an Easter egg hunt in their backyard. Notice how Alyssa put a football (a gigantic looking egg) in her basket :)

Bowling for Catherine and Dad Whitaker's B-Days

We all went bowling for Catherine and Dad Whitaker's b-days and had a ton of fun! It was all we could do to hold Alyssa back from running out into the lanes to chase the balls, though. We were finally able to distract her by having her stand in front of the machine that holds the balls, where there is a fan that blows air straight up into Alyssa's face and makes her laugh hysterically.

Alyssa in a Bucket

I had to include this picture of Alyssa in a bucket, which is used to hold Modbe swimsuits. She loved to climb in and thought it was the funnest toy!

Trip to California

We drove to California the end of February for a short and very cheap vacation and stayed with some friends in Burbank. We had a great time, going to the L.A. Zoo and Disneyland. I had to include the first pictures of Alyssa at the zoo, snuggling with her favorite blanky and making her usual sucking lips. Ever since she was a baby she has sucked her lips while she snuggles with her blanky, which I adore. Disneyland was fun, but freezing cold! People were walking around in winter coats and snow hats. Next time we go to Disneyland I'm going to make sure to go at a warmer time of year :)

Alyssa with Daddy

Alyssa loves to have us read books to her and here is Will reading Cinderella, which is one of 4 Disney princess books Alyssa frequently requests.

Alyssa in January

Sara showed me how to do Alyssa's hair in cute pig tails for the first time! Here are some pictures with pig tails and Alyssa's hair after I take out the elastics :)