What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar? Turn 23.

My 23rd birthday snuck up on me. Luckily we just enjoyed an evening of family and Klondike bars, nice and low-key. Even Little Ladie shared in the ice cream festivities!

Older and Wiser,

D

Month Nine was Fine!

Little Lady is growing so fast. She has started to show signs of getting ready to crawl. Mostly she tried to reach for the dog and will scoot a little on her belly to get his paw or tail! It's so funny to watch her concentrate.



The weather has been beautiful, so we've been doing laps around the park down the street with a friend of mine and her two little girls. Lady will love the swings one day and hate them the next... What a diva, right? We also visited Auntie Cussy and walked around the lake and had some delicious pizza. We really enjoyed the view.

We started sippy cups this month! Let's hope bottles go out the window by December!!



Acting Funny While These Days are Sunny,

D

Reunited And It Feels So Good!

We had our first ever family reunion! My awesome cousin Stacy initiated, delegated and pulled off our first family reunion. It took place in Half Moon Bay and it was a fun and beautiful day. It was so great to get together with all of our relatives on Nana's side.

Nana & Papa

Auntie Cussy & Cousin Trina

D & Little Lady

Cousins & Spouces

Our Family

Nana's Siblings

Siblings & Spouces

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins & Kids

Extended Family

With Cousin Stacy & Little Kaia

Exersauser=Babysitter!

Auntie Cussy & Uncle Andy



D & Little Lady



Little Lady in her fluffy hairdo

Delighted to be Reunited,

D

Ode To June

To be completely honest, I'm writing this post in December, so I'm foggy (to say the very least) on the details of what transpired about six months ago. I'll do my best.

Little Lady went in for her first "illness". She had a scratchy and soar through that was inflamed, but tested negative for strep. Phew! She weighed in at 15 lbs. 5 oz. and after a few days and some chilled bottles, she was back to her normal, vocal self.

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In the middle of the month, Auntie Cussy and Uncle Andy moved back to the Bay Area for the first time in nearly seven years! Hooray! I was so fun to have them around and to have another pair of babysitters. Ha ha. We also kicked off the FIFA World Cup which pretty much distracted me for the remainder of the month. Perhaps it is a good thing that it is only every four years after all...

Over the Sickness, but Never Over Soccer,

D

SacramenTrip

As fun as our Fourth of July was, it was only a small portion of our trip in Sacramento. We also ventured out to Lake Natomas for a day of fun in the sun and water. Little Lady was not too pleased with the water temperature, even though it was, in actuality, ideal. This was her first time in her new bathing suit which barely fit her and will probably never get to wear again... Oh well, still worth every penny!

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It was instantly clear that the Lady did not inherit my fear of open water in the boat. We enjoyed a little kayaking and others enjoyed tubing. It was perrrrrfect weather, not too hot or windy at all. We wrapped up the trip with a meal to send us off with full stomachs. Little Lady particularly enjoyed her first taste of watermelon in the "gnawing net" that my aunt got for her!

Staycation Satisfied,

D

First Fourth

I did it. I took a vacation.

Mid-semester I packed for what seemed like a four-month trip for eight and ventured off to Sacramento. It was well worth it. It was a beautiful change of scenery and we enjoyed great company with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Auntie Cussy and Uncle Andy came up too.

The trip was packed with outings, sunshine, and delicious food (as always when we go to Aunt Shirlee's house!). Our Fourth of July eve was spent in El Dorado Hills where they had a gorgeous fireworks show that was right above our heads! It was a little loud for the Lady, but Auntie Cussy provided her hands as earmuffs for the show.

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Our actual Fourth of July started out going to church and then visiting our Uncle Byron's family for swimming and a barbeque. It was Little Lady's first time in a pool! I bought her first swimsuit and swim diapers to prepare for the adventure. (Those picture will come in a later segment about the remainder of the trip.) Afterward, we headed back to watch the neighborhood fireworks. We all gathered in a cul-de-sac and watched as they fired-off over $700-worth of fireworks!! It took about 45 minutes to get through them all (after taking about 45 minutes to unwrap them all). Little Lady loved to watch, but they were pretty loud considering how close we were and the echo in our little nook.

There was much more than we did after the Fourth of July, but I will post that in the next few days. It was so fun to get away for a little while, even if I had to do homework every night. Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Sacramento!

Loved the Get-Away from the Bay,

D

5K Day

Last weekend Nana, Lady and I headed out with about 150 women from our church and the community to participate in our annual 5K. We had done it once before a couple of years ago and both years, the weather was perfect! It was high 70s with a great breeze!

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Lady slept for the first 2 miles and then woke up just in time to cheer us on to the finish line. It was a great way to start off our morning and our weekend! Little more than three miles and exactly three generations!

Soaking Up Sun and Having Some Fun,

D

Down to the Pound

I took Little Lady for her 4 month check-up last week and to get another round of shots. She did great with the first set, the second set was a little more difficult but nothing too dramatic. Since her last check up two months ago, she has only gained a pound and a half. The Dr. W says it isn't anything to worry about yet, but we have started adding a few ounces of formula everyday to help her put on some more chub.

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As of last week, Lady is weighing in at 11 lbs. 12 oz. and is 23 inches long. She rolled over once from her belly to her back, but didn't like it very much. She is also getting pretty good at holding her own bottle. She LOVES to laugh and Nana, Papa, Grandpa D and I all love to make her laugh.

Luring Laughter,

D

Gleeful Guests

Auntie Cussy and Uncle Andy came to the Bay for a couple of days to visit. They're visits are always too short, but this one was shortest by far! We had enough time to visit with some of Andrew's family that was also in town, have a few meals together and a little day trip to South City.

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The weather was A-mazing! We have had a nice break from the rain and have been reaching 80 degrees for the last week. It was especially a treat for CassAndrew who have been weathering the snow for the last few months. Hopefully they'll be back soon since we miss them already!

Glad for the Guests,

D

Sunny Soiree

As promised, here are a few pictures of the soiree from after Little Lady's baby blessing at the end of January. It was so fun to have a house full of kids and a day full of sunshine! A few of my cousins and their beautiful and fun children came as well as my Aunt Katie who was so busy behind the camera, that I don't have a picture of her in front of it. Darn it.

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Full of Love From Family Fun,

D

One Blessed Baby

Little Lady had her baby blessing in church a couple of weeks ago. Her Grandpa D performed the blessing while surrounded by Papa Rob, my brother-in-law's grandfather, her Bishop and home teacher who all participated.

The dress Little Lady wore was made by an amazingly talented sister in our ward, who, despite her own many projects and the holidays, found the time to make this gorgeous gown. Nana picked out the pattern and I spent hours in a fabric store 38 weeks pregnant trying to find all of the right components, but it was well worth it.

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We were also blessed to have so many members of our family who came out to support Little Lady on her big day (well, second big day after her birthday, of course...)! She was surrounded by so much love. My Aunt Katie also shared her great talent as a photographer so that we could have these memories forever. Thank you! I will soon post pictures of the little soiree with all of our visiting family. 

Feeling Blessed Myself,

D