The Zoo

On Friday the weather was beautiful (72 degrees!), so my friend Karen and I took the kiddos to the zoo! It was so much fun and we really enjoyed just getting out of the house and seeing everything!

Sydney and I at the elephants

Karen and Eli checking out the bears
Sydney being much too busy eating her stroller to be looking at the bears
Eli's favorite animals - the geese!
Two tired kiddos ready to go home!
As we went into the zoo I turned to Karen and said, "This is the cute part of motherhood!" I always imagined going on walks and to the zoo with friends and all our babies. Obviously there's so much more to it than that, but as we went through the gates (and saw some other friends of ours!) I still thought to myself, "I've arrived." :)

We've Had a Busy Week!

Things have been busy at our house over the past week or so! Sydney changes so quickly, it's like something new happens every day! Here are a few things we did:

Ate a whole tub of sweet potatoes (first time finishing a whole one in one setting!)

Tried on my new shorts
Did a bit of sun bathing on the front lawn
Went to the Zoo (more on this in the next post)Read some stories
Tried some carrots (yum!)Grew out of my long johns because my thighs are so big that they don't want to snap.
She also learned how to roll from her back to her belly on Friday and is figuring out the whole sitting up thing. She found her voice - again (she lost it while she was sick and had to relearn how to squeal, yell, and just talk). My how they grow!

Mommy Time

Sydney and I have lots of time to play together since we are at home all day, so we try to do some fun things along with the usual ones. This week we picked out the perfect shades to go with her other summer essentials (Children's Place for $3.50! Best deal ever!)

And Sydney got her first pedicure! (In home - I did not pay $30 to have my baby's toes painted)

Isn't she stylin'? Why did I need a girl again? Oh yeah...

Who's Ready for Summer?

This little girl is! She loves being outside, but her time out there is limited at the moment! To get ready for summer we thought we'd post a few pictures!

This is a swimsuit someone gave us that is so cute, but too small right now, so it totally won't fit this summer! Cute though!

Here's the one we've purchased for our 2008 pool time!
Doesn't she look ready to hit the beach? All she needs are some little flip flops!
Mostly this picture just really cracks me up. Her expression, her little lips, the fact that she's standing, everything.
Is it really still only February? Man we're in trouble.

Johnny Jump Up

We finally got a jumper for Sydney! We got it on Tuesday and almost immediately had to try it out. Here's how it went. Aaron translates the directions (which could have been in Latin) and figures out how to put the fool thing together and attaches it to the door frame.

What in the heck is this thing?
I'm standing up like a big girl. This part is cool.
What? Am I supposed to do something?
Yeah, so she totally doesn't get the whole jumping thing. I know she will, but it's actually really funny to watch her just hang there. She loves it when we make her jump, but she hasn't figured out that she can do it on her own. When she does, we'll post a video. :)

We've Been Busy!

We've had a busy last few weeks since I posted! Sydney has bronchialitis, so she's bee hacking for about a week (good news though, it's not RSV!), and is just barely starting to get over it. Her sleeping patterns have gotten all screwed up though, so she now thinks that 4:30 am is the best time to wake up. I completely disagree and we squabble about it EVERY morning while I attempt to sleep and she does a really good job of stopping me.

This was taken almost 2 weeks ago before she got sick, which is why she's all happy!

Last week we had a bunch of contractors at the house fixing some warranty items when the flooring guy discovered the cause of our vinyl discoloration - while the house was being built they cut a whole in the door accidentally, which lets water in under the vinyl every time it rains, which grows mold and is not good. We now have a part of our floor that has been completely ripped out and we are waiting to hear back from the builder on what they are going to do to fix it. Joy.
Tax time! This year Aaron had a tax buddy to sit and help him make sense of everything. Don't let that confused look on her face fool you - she knows more than she lets on!

Happy 5 Month B-Day

For a special treat today we let Sydney try squash since she is now 5 months old (can you believe it?). We tried it this afternoon and after about 5 bites she pitched a fit and demanded a bottle and a nap (note to self - do not try anything "not normal" when your baby is hungry and tired). We put the food in the fridge, put our cranky baby to bed, and let her sort things out her way. After a bottle and a short, but apparently adequate nap, we tried again. This time it was gold! She was all over that squash and ate over have a jar! Yay Sydney!

Also for those of you asking for pics of me, here you go. It's not a great one and I'm not looking at the camera, but it's proof that I'm still alive and kicking! We'll work on another one to follow. Maybe I can teach Sydney to take some pictures...

Guess What I Can Do?

Bouncing with Dad

Two Weeks in Pictures

I'm getting chastised again for not having recent pictures and videos up, so here I am complying and posting. Enjoy my back post.

She's such a happy girl

Recent development - she CAN hold her own bottle. Doesn't feel the need to most times, but she can. Here's proof.
This kid is all business when it comes to food. Of any sort.
Talking to grandma (or listening to grandma) while trying to eat mom's phone. Such a multi-tasker.
This one is my fault. We were going through all her clothes determining which ones were all the same size and she kept trying to eat them, so I tied it on her head like a turban. Mostly it was just funny.

Now I can post more stuff because I am caught up!

President Hinckley Remembered

President Gordon B. Hinckley was such a special man and will be very sorely missed. At least now he is with his dear sweet wife Marjorie. What a sweet couple and wonderful people.

I want to share part of my favorite talk he ever gave. Sorry it's long, but it's good. He said,

"First, I want to tell you that I love you. I love you kids, you wonderful young people of this Church. I believe you are the best generation this Church has ever had. No generation which has gone before measures up to the stature to which you measure up. God bless you for what you are and who you are.
The world is on a slippery slide, it is going downhill and it is going fast. And you are as a beacon on a hill young people of rectitude and virtue and decency and goodness. Remain that way... You can stand above them. You must stand above them! The world will look to you as the years pass, of that I have no doubt whatever. For if it continues to go in the direction in which it is going, the disparity between the world and this Church will grow and lengthen and we will become more and more of a peculiar people.
Now, be faithful, be true, go forward, be ambitious. Don't short-circuit yourself. Don't stop now. Keep growing. Keep going. Educate your minds and your spirits and never lose sight of the fact that you are a child of God with a divine destiny and capability of doing great and good and wonderful things. Don't sell yourselves short. Don't cheapen yourselves. You know who you are. Each of you knows that you are a child of God and that your Heavenly Father expects something great and noble and good of you.
You just have to do your very best with all the capability you have. And somehow, if you do that, God will open the way before you and... you will accomplish great good in the world in which you take a part. May heaven smile upon you. May you be blessed. May your tears be few and your smiles many as you go forward with your lives is my humble prayer. There is no end in sight for the good you can do. Do you know it? You are just simple kids. You are not geniuses. I know that. But the work of the world isn't done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way people of your kind who can do these things." - President Gordon B. Hinckley, Oct 22, 2002 (Click here to access the whole talk)

I was sitting in the audience listening when he gave that talk and I remember feeling so loved by this wonderful man. I think we all left there feeling like we could change the world in our own quiet little ways. :)

His wife was no less profound or loving. Here are 2 quotes she said that I love:

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cray. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache." - Marjorie Pay Hinckley (Aaron loves to remind me of this quote whenever I have one of those sobfests that most girls do.)

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

If you don't know who President Hinckley is, click here to read the New York Times article, or visit www.mormon.org to learn about the Church beliefs.

Rice Burner Video

The Newest Rice Burner in the Family

Let's face it, we're a rice burner family. First the Camry, then the Honda. Now Sydney's decided she wants to join in the fun! Last Saturday we stripped her down and fed her her first bites of real food - If you can call rice cereal real food that is! It was too funny to watch! She is a little piggy and eats anything you stick in her mouth, so she took to cereal like a duck to water - for a time. She ate everything we stuck in her mouth for the first bit, and even if a bunch of it ended up coming back out, I think she got some down! Then it was like she realized she was eating something different than usual, and she started gagging whenever we put it in her mouth! It was so funny. Here is some documentation of the momentous occasion:

Aaron feeding Sydney

Messy and happy!

Being silly afterward with Mom.

Pictures of me besides me feet, hands, and nose will have to wait a few more days. Sorry guys!

Sydney Again

I'm very sorry to just post pics of Sydney right now. I am trying to catch up with some that I really loved and wanted to post. I promise I will post about other things that are going on too. Also, for those of you who have kindly asked for pics of me too, I honestly don't have any right now because I am always the one taking the pictures, but I will endeavor to get one very soon so that I can post it for you. I also love seeing all of you, so don't just post about your kids and hobbies, post pics of you too!
Here are some great pics of Sydney that I just can't resist:

Feeling extra smiley a few weeks ago in the morning.

I've always loved her in bows, but I recently rediscovered them and I now try to have one on her every day.

She's got a round head. On a blanket here that her great-grandma made for her. Why didn't we all put pink and brown together a long time ago? It's like the best color combo ever.
Playing on the rocking chair Aaron's parents got her. And with her hippo-dog Russell.
Daddy says red is her best color. I must agree that she looks really stinkin cute in it!

Our Happy Christmas

We hope you guys all had a great Christmas, we sure did. It was lots of fun and very relaxing to be at home and not have to travel in the snow this year! I've had requests for Christmas pics, so here they are, even though it's been like 3 weeks since then.

Sydney happy as a clam. Apparently the fact that she woke us up about 15 times between 2 am and 7 am didn't affect her like it did us.

Our tree

Not really understanding the point here. I'm sure next year she'll make up for it!

Aaron on Christmas morning.

We had Christmas dinner with our good friends the Karen, Zack, and Eli, which is always fun. We watched movies and relaxed, which was great. Aaron worked the day after Christmas for the first time ever.

Cutest PJs ever

Also don't you think she kind of looks like a frog the way she's sitting? I do. I love 2 piece pjs like this. So cute.

Sydney

These were taken on December 16 after church, so Sydney was just over 3 months old.

Showing off the pretty dress

With Daddy

Looking confused, but cute.

Oh My Gosh, She Blogged!

Ok I know that many of you know my thoughts on blogs - we love pictures, be sure to write something too (it is kind of a journal you know) and post OFTEN because the rest of us are watching it and want to see what you are up to! So you might think I'm a total hypocrite since it's been a whole month since I've posted. I'm ever so sorry, we actually had no Internet until Monday, so it was pretty hard to post at all, let alone frequently. But never fear, we're up and running again, so now I can blog again!