New Blog

I started a new blog today.

Rosie's Visit

My sister Rosie stopped by today. She is moving to Canada and was here in Utah getting some things squared away for her immigration.

Sandy had a lot of fun with her Aunt Rosie and got lots of tickles!


Here's a picture of Sandy. She found a "purse" that she likes to fill it with dog food. It is really a bag for a pair of shoes, but she uses it as a purse.

No!

Sandy has a new word.

No!

She says it very emphatically when she doesn't want to go into her crib or doesn't want the food I'm offering her.

She also tells herself no. Yesterday she was sitting in front of the CPU as Bill was working on the computer. She held her finger up to the power button and was telling herself, "no, no, no" as she shook her head. She did press the button, but Bill has now rigged it so the power button doesn't turn the computer off. (After some very unpleasant experiences of her turning off the computer and us losing work.)

I have been really conscious of the times when I tell her no because I was hoping to postpone this day. I try to give her specific instructions instead of saying no. When I do need to say no, I try to say "No, thank you."

Ah, well, at least she is better able to communicate with us.

Birthday Dress & Backpack Carrier

Today Sandy wore the dress she got from her Grandma & Grandpa Buhler for her birthday.


After church we went for a walk and Bill carried Sandy in her new backpack carrier.

Sandy's Birthday Party

We had a very small birthday party for Sandy today. Bill did a great job of recording it and if I can figure out how to cut out clips, I'll post some. However, we didn't get very many pictures. So if you have pictures - especially of Sandy blowing out her candles and eating her cupcake - will you please email them to me?

Last night I made cupcakes and left them cooling on the kitchen table. This morning Sandy found them.


I was surprised she could reach them. Bill came around the corner and got this picture before she fed the cupcake paper to the dog. Getting rid of the evidence?

I had fun decorating cupcakes. I learned this rose design from an online tutorial. I used a 2D tip.


Last night Bill made several butterfly chocolates using a mold.

Here are the finished cupcakes.

I also made Sandy a party hat. I got the idea from another online tutorial. I used scrapbook paper and curling ribbon. It was really fast and easy.

She wouldn't keep the hat on and tore it before the party started. Here's a close up.

We set up chairs in our backyard. Sandy's high chair was under the beach umbrella. I was worried about it raining. It didn't, but it was very hot!



Here's a picture of Sandy playing with a toy cell phone she got for her birthday. She thought the presents were a game of putting them back in the bag -- until she got some toys and then she just wanted to play with the toy she had just gotten.

Bill set up a monitor in the kitchen on the food table. I had fun going through pictures from the last year to make a slideshow to play during the party.

We're so glad for those that came and shared Sandy's birthday celebration with us. I found this cute poem online and made up some little bags of Hershey's kisses for favors.

Bee Sting and First Step

Sandy's new favorite fruit is watermelon. We went outside for a few minutes and she still had some watermelon juices on her shirt. The juices must have attracted a bee because she started crying and I found a dead bee in the bucket she was playing with. Her finger swelled to double its size almost immediately. After some Tylenol and a paste of meat tenderizer and water she was feeling much better. I'm glad she didn't have an allergic reaction.




















Sandy also took her first step today. Bill and I were both sitting in the living room watching. Sandy was holding on to Sage and walking when Sage ran to see something at the door. Instead of falling down like she usually does, Sandy took a step before grabbing onto the windowsill.

Videos from Sandy's Birthday

Here is the video of Sandy picking an item on her first birthday. Thanks to those that ventured guesses on what she picked!



Here is a video of us singing Happy Birthday to Sandy and blowing out the candle on her pancakes.



Bill's family has a tradition of singing three verses to Happy Birthday. I had never heard more than one verse to Happy Birthday before I met them, so here are the words for those readers that may also be unfamiliar with them.

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Sandy,
Happy Birthday to you.

'Tis love brings us here,
'Tis love brings us here,
Happy Birthday dear Sandy,
'Tis love brings us here.

You're now 1 year old,
You're now 1 year old,
Happy Birthday dear Sandy,
You're now 1 year old.

12-Month Checkup

Sandy rode in her new carseat for the first time this morning.

She is 29.5 inches long (60th percentile) and weighs 19 lb 6 oz (21st percentile). She must have dropped some weight because last week we weighed her at home and she came in at 22 lbs.

She has two teeth on the bottom. She's a great eater and some of her favorite foods are fruits, vegetables, cheese, graham crackers, and fruit snacks. She loves to "brush" her teeth, although that mostly means chewing on her toothbrush.

Her primary method of getting around is still scooting, but she also pulls herself up on furniture and walks along it. She can stand alone and will balance herself for a few seconds, but she hasn't taken any steps yet. She goes up and down stairs really well.

She says mama, dada, and mum. She also carries on frequent conversations in baby talk. She likes to play with blocks, put things in containers, kiss stuffed animals and other toys, and read books.

She only uses her binkie in her crib to sleep (although we make exceptions for high stress moments like sacrament meeting). She uses a sippy cup - always with water in it, although today she tried whole milk for the first time (and didn't like it). She's still nursing, but I'm hoping to wean her over the next few weeks.

Dr. Baar said she looks healthy. She also checked Sandy's back and said it looks good.

Happy Birthday, Sandy

Sandy is 1 year old today.








We started out the morning with a tradition* I read about online. We put several objects in front of her. The idea is that the item she chooses foretells what she will be good at.

Bill recorded her picking, but I can't find the cord to hook the camcorder up to the computer. So, I'll come back and post the video. In the meantime, what do you think she picked? The choices were:








A computer keyboard, representing aptitude with computers and technology.












A potato representing food or farming.















A book representing success in academics and a love of reading.














A toy drum representing musical skill.














A $10 bill representing wealth.














A ball representing athletic skill.









Then we had a breakfast of pink pancakes (you can make colored pancakes by adding a few drops of food coloring to the batter).

We put a candle in a stack of mini pancakes for Sandy and sang Happy Birthday. (It was harder to get the candle through the pancakes than I would have guessed. I ended up pushing a toothpick through the top two pancakes and then threading the candle through one by one.)



Happy Birthday, Sandy! We love you!

*I first heard about this tradition in a conference talk given by L. Tom Perry in the October 1991 conference. I thought it would be fun and so I searched online and found several ideas of things to include.

Diaper Rash Cream

What a mess! Sandy got into a big tub of diaper rash cream.

I've heard many times of the night my dad came home to find my brother and I outside, naked, and covered head to toe in diaper rash cream. I have a new appreciation for how hard it was to clean up. Even after a bath in dish soap, Sandy has a distinct smell.

I also understand how quickly it happens. My mom was inside cooking dinner when Sam and I got into the cream. With Sandy, I was in the same room writing out my grocery list (although I was on the other side of the crib and changing table so I couldn't see exactly what she was doing). She was playing with blocks one minute and the next time I looked up...

Sandy is sandy

Finally a nice sunny day!

We played at the park twice today to take advantage of it. Sandy loved the sandbox.

And she found the sprinklers.

I hope this means monsoon season is over.

Father's Day Celebration

We had a full day yesterday! First, I want to share this video of Sandy going down stairs. Bill has been teaching her and it is a huge relief to me that she can now safely navigate stairs. Sorry for the video quality. Our friend, Jeffery, is the other person in the video. He is 10 years old and came to church with us and then came home after to have lunch with us.




We went to visit Grandpa Shupe. Sandy woke up from a nap just as we pulled up and wasn't sure she was ready to go to Grandpa -- until he pulled out some marshmallows.



Grandpa took Sandy swinging.


Then we went to the Buhler's where we celebrated Doug's birthday as well as Father's Day.




Sandy enjoyed playing with the wrappings after her grandpa was finished opening presents.

Happy Father's Day!

Busy Sunday

We went to Stake Conference yesterday. Since it was widely known that a new Stake President was being called, we arrived 30 minutes early in hopes of getting a good seat. Ten minutes early would have been sufficient.

Bill and I alternated sitting in the pew and taking Sandy outside, hoping to wear her out before Stake Conference started. She loves stairs and goes up them really well. She's still learning how to go down.

It was an excellent meeting and I actually got to listen to most of it thanks to a girl behind us that entertained Sandy for the first half hour. Sandy slept through the rest of the meeting which was a small miracle because she never sleeps during Sacrament Meeting.

My favorite quote was one that Elder Samuel Clark of the Seventy shared: "The Lord doesn't ask about our ability only our availability and if we will show forth our dependability he will take care of our capability."

I was sad to see our Stake President released. We hadn't been in the ward 6 months before he would greet Bill and I by name at stake meetings. I was so impressed that he knew Bill and I when we didn't have stake callings and there wasn't any particular reason for him to know us. I know he cared for the members of our stake and was very aware of them.

I'm excited to get to know our new Stake President. He was the bishop of one of the other wards in our stake and I've seen him a couple of times at Stake Primary things and been impressed by him.

Sunday evening we went to Bill's parents' house. Bill's cousin Rob is in town with his family and so the Buhler clan congregated to visit with them. Here is Bill's cousin Rob with his daughter, Ainsley.

Here is a picture of Sandy and Ainsley getting acquainted. Ainsley is being held by her mother, Sarah. Bill's sister Julie is next to her. Doesn't Julie have that pregnancy glow? I'm excited to meet a new niece or nephew in December.

Sandy loves visiting family, especially when she is the center of attention.


Bill's cousin, Maria, loves babies and always gives Sandy lots of attention!