Pre-Holiday and Holiday Fun

November treated us very well. My mom came down to spend a few days with us and we had so much fun. Belle loves her grandma! And why wouldn't she? When grandma comes Belle is so spoiled. They had so much fun napping together, reading books together, eating together, and going to the zoo together! What a great week we all had. The fun didn't stop there. A few days later we spent Thanksgiving in Blanding. I guess we're all pretty spoiled!

At the Mesa Temple Lights!


Kicking field goals at San Juan's football field.
Thanksgiving at Sunny's house!
I found Belle like this one afternoon. Yep, she loves shoes.

At the Zoo

Family Pictures

We finally got some family pictures taken!! Here are some of our favorites!

Little Wizard

Belle was a wizard for Halloween. She wore a costume my mom originally made for my younger sister almost 20 years ago. As you can see, Belle was so funny and cute in it! She wasn't bothered at all by the hat or cape!! Halloween is definitely a lot more fun when you have kids!

Our little wizard.

Off to practice her wizardry.

Playing with a bunny at the Ward Party!

Belle loved her little pumpkin. She thought it was a ball though, and kept bouncing it and rolling it around.

The pumpkins we carved. Heather's on the left. Platte's on the right. (Yes, that's a real flame.)

Fall Fun

This fall (at least I think you can call it that in Arizona) has been fun. Platte played in his final flag football season with his friends at law school. It was fun taking Belle to the games and hanging out with all the other wives! I'm sure we will miss this time of year when Platte finally graduates! Also, we've remained die-hard BYU football fans and have had a lot of fun watching the games with our fellow Cougars.

During Fall Break we took a short trip to Blanding. We got to go fishing, take a drive up the Blue Mountain road, play at the Albert R. Lyman Park (has the biggest slide ever), eat at Patio Drive-In, and spend a lot of time with family. It's nice that Blanding isn't that far away!

As for Belle, she is beginning to be quite the explorer! It's a good thing the weather is so pleasant now, because she insists that we play outside every day. Once outside, she does not want to come back in. We enjoy watching her grow up!

Belle LOVES leaves!

She thought it was SO funny when Platte would throw leaves all over her!

She still loves to play at the park!

She is so interested with the bark on the tree!

She loves to pick up rocks!

Off exploring with her rocks!

Belle in her BYU Rally Cap that my mom made for her! It's too bad she hasn't actually been able to wear it to a game!

She also likes to wear her Dad's BYU hat!

Fishing with Josh and the kids!

Skipping rocks!

Belle in the Jeep!

A Blondie at Applebee's for my 25th Birthday!!

Belle's Birthday

Belle turned one on Friday! We can't believe how fast this past year has gone. She is the sweetest thing to us! We had a nice little party with the three of us to celebrate. (My parents joined on videochat for presents and the eating of the cake!) Here is our birthday girl!

Belle waiting for her birthday dinner of Macaroni and Cheese.

The bib that Whitney made for Belle!

Belle with all her birthday presents: clothes, toys, balls, hair accessories, etc. Thank you everyone for being so kind!

She started out a little hesitant...

And then she surprised me and loved to stuff the cake in her face!

All done.

Still trying to eat some after we took her piece away!

Statistics of Belle Nielson at age 1:

Height: 28.5 inches
Weight: About 20 lbs
Hair Color: Strawberry Blonde
Eye Color: Bright Blue
Teeth: 2
Favorite Foods: Macaroni and Cheese, Watermelon, Strawberries
Favorite Outside Activity: Swimming
Favorite Inside Activity: Wrestling with Daddy
Favorite Position to be in: Snuggling up with Mommy
Favorite Animal: Dog
Favorite place to go: Grocery Shopping and to the Library

Belle loves to laugh and she smiles all the time.
She loves to play in the bathtub with her toys, but hates to get water on her face.
She hates when the vacuum is on, or when a loud mixer is on when I cook.
She sleeps like a champ, and always has.
She took her first steps when she was about 10 1/2 months.
She can walk by herself, but still prefers to walk holding my hand.
She claps her hands when we say "Good job."
She waves when we say "Hi."
She likes to growl.
She likes to fake laugh.

Favorite position to sleep in while in her crib

Favorite toy: Mom's wallet and the cards inside

She loves to take baths...she does not love to get out of the bath

Favorite remote--she loves to turn the tv on and off, and to change channels

Favorite place in the house: Next to the computer...and pressing all the keys


Video of when Belle really started to walk about a month ago.