Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Pumpkin Patch



A couple of weeks ago, we went to one of those pumpkin patches that has activities for the kids: corn bin, petting zoo, corn maze, etc. We were there on a beautiful fall day (unlike today - we got our first snow!) and the kids had a great time.



One of the activities was a human sized "hamster wheel." It was pretty hard to push actually, because it was slightly uphill. 


I think goats are so fun. One day, my dream is to have a backyard goat. Must find a city that allows that. 


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Piper - 1 year old


My sweet, smiling, one-year-old Piper baby,

I cannot get over how much you smile. And it's not just any smile. You truly smile with your whole face. Your mouth opens so wide I can see all 9 teeth, the last of which just came in a week ago. (Your first molar...ouch.) Your smiles usually coincide with an adorable ha-ha-ha forced laughter, but we get plenty of genuine giggles and squeals as well.

Lately, a sure-fire way to get you to giggle is to read you your favorite library book: Corduroy's Party. You love flipping through the pages of plenty of other books as well, but this one is special because you will bring it to Mom or Dad, place it in our hands, climb on our lap, and SIT STILL for the whole 6 pages. I've even seen you kiss the characters in the book. I'm so happy you are learning to love reading.


You're now officially a walker, which makes you seem so much older. You can climb pretty well, too. I've caught you on top of the kids table and I've witnessed you climb onto the cedar chest so you could look out the window (you were looking for the neighbor's dog). You can climb down off the bed and the couch, too. And at playgrounds, you're pretty brave with the slides, not caring so much whether you go down forward or backward, head-first or feet-first.

You still have the same gorgeous blue eyes that you did when you were born. I can't imagine how you could possibly be any cuter.

A few other things I don't ever want to forget about you, at 1 year old:
the way you crawl into my lap and lean your head back on my chest.
the way you give kiss after kiss with a wet, open mouth.
the way you always walk with your left foot leading and your body turned at a 45 degree angle to the direction you are going.
the way you point at things you're excited to see (dogs especially!)
how amazingly you can communicate your desires by pointing, grunting, babbling, and shaking your head 'no.'

I can't imagine our family without you!

You got this pink rocking horse for your birthday and Libby loves it as much as you do.

Eating your blueberry birthday cake.


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Family Vacation in Utah

In early September, we went to Utah to visit Jared's parents and sister. We were able to see a few friends as well, though there is never enough time to see everyone we wish we could see! We keep saying that our next trip to Utah needs to be a full 2 weeks because there is so much we always want to do.

We spent several days in Idaho at Jared's parents' house there. Libby loved feeding the horses next door and wading in the irrigated apple orchard. This was our last visit to their Idaho home, as they are selling the house in a few months, so we were glad Libby was old enough to enjoy some of these things this time. We also went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair, which Jared's grandpa used to manage.

In Utah, we visited with Sherry at Thanksgiving Point and our kids were finally able to meet each other!
We were lucky to be in town for our twin nieces' exciting birthday party, complete with a giant bubble machine.

Piper was crazy about Rachel's dog, Harley. Libby was crazy about playing with older kids. 



We also went down to Provo to see Leighana, who's a freshman at BYU now, and to visit campus. It had been 5 years since I'd been to Provo (seriously, where has the time gone?) and I was super excited to relive the glory days. We walked around campus, browsed the bookstore for dorky alumni paraphernalia, ate at J-Dawgs (albeit, the one in Orem), said hi to my old boss at Cougar Creations, and ate Creamery ice cream. And chocolate milk! It was also fun to see the new Heritage Halls, where Leighana lives. It was definitely nicer than anywhere I ever lived as a student.
 
 

And, I got to catch up with these girls and meet Lauren's husband and Renae's second baby. The last time the 3 of us were together was at my wedding!