Swings!

We went to the park today and Sandy experienced outdoor swinging for the first time.

She loved it and I loved watching her giggle every time I pushed her.

Let's Get Creative

This is another one of those blog tag things. One of my friends had this on her blog. Here's how it works. The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift or treat from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise. The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Yeah, for homemade things and surprise packages!

Happy Birthday, Julie!

It was Julie's (Bill's sister) birthday yesterday and so the family got together to celebrate. Happy Birthday, Julie!

Of course, any time Bill has his camera out he is sure to get plenty of shots of Sandy. Check out this outfit and hairbow. They match perfectly even though some friends of ours, the Cutlers, bought the outfit and my sister Kelsie bought the hairbow.

Look at her pout.

If we help her hold on to something, she likes to stand up.

Sunday Pictures

I snapped a few pictures of Sandy when we got home from church today.

Sage trying to get in on the action.

Look who can stand up!

The back view.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

We went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner last night. We made Sandy a plate of plain spaghetti and cut up broccoli. She had a great time!

Mini Play Pen

I've discovered a great way to keep Sandy entertained in places I don't want her crawling around on the floor - like the bathroom and the laundry room. She likes to sit in a laundry basket and play with a bucket and toys. Apparently putting toys in a bucket and dumping it out is fun no matter how many times she does it. Here she is last night playing in her miniature play pen while I take a shower.

Here's a picture of her standing up so you can see her cute overalls. These are a hand-me-down from her cousin Ava and I think they are absolutely adorable!

Bath Time

Bill had tonight off from school because of President's Day. So, when I gave Sandy a bath, he realized we had never taken pictures of her bathing and got out his camera.

Sunday Pictures

Bill took pictures of Sandy this morning before church. Thank you, Bill!


She's wearing a pink skirt with panties and her shirt says Daddy's Little Sweetie.

She loves to stick out her tongue.

Look how good she sits up! She'll sit and play for quite a while if there are toys nearby and she rarely falls over.

Valentine's Day Recap

We had a nice, but very busy, Valentine's Day yesterday. First, Sandy and I went to a Daughters of the Utah Pioneer meeting. Bill's mom and grandma are in the same camp. Here is Jaydene holding Sandy.





I presented a history of my third great-grandmother, Louisa Crabtree Shupe. I've been busy trying to track down information on her because I didn't have much to start with. I got a call on Friday from another descendent of hers who has some old documents she thought might have some information. So, I'm going to go see those and then I'll post the history.


While we were there, it started to snow really hard. It was a rather scary drive home. Bill got some cute pictures of Sandy in her Valentine dress when we got home.





Then I shoveled the driveway while Bill dealt with a work emergency. By the time Bill was done with his work emergency, Sandy had fallen asleep. So he went alone to his nephew Christian's 3rd birthday party.

The missionaries were going to come to dinner, but they called and rescheduled for tonight (Sunday). So the three of us had a yummy dinner at home and then we put Sandy to bed at 6:30. It is nice that she will go down pretty easily now and stay asleep. So Bill and I had the entire evening to ourselves.

Happy Valentine's Day

Project

Here is my latest project:




I put together a packet for the City Council explaining why our neighborhood is opposed to a local nursing home tearing down homes in our neighborhood for their expansion. There is a large group of neighbors involved and I had lots of help, but I did do the writing and layout (in Indesign). It was very satisfying. If you'd like to see it, you can find it here.

And, here is a picture of Sandy because how can I do a post without including a picture of her?

Sandy's Toys and Getting More Sleep

Sandy has a lot of great toys to play with, but I am continually amazed at the non-toy items she likes to play with.

She loves to hold things when we go shopping and this was a quick trip to get windshield wiper fluid. I worried about putting such a big item in her lap, but she cried and reached for it. She had a great time holding it until we got out to the car!


Here she is chewing on my lip gloss.

Here she is with a dough roller, her favorite kitchen item to play with. Of course, she likes just about anything from the kitchen I will give her: lids, rubber spatulas, empty cool whip tubs...



She loves paper! Here she is playing with the junk mail.

Here she is at a cub scout dinner. One of the ladies from our ward held her and Sandy was fascinated by the oxygen hose.

She even tried chewing on it!


Here she is with a piece of cellophane. She likes it almost as much as plastic bags, but we try our best to keep plastic bags far away from her.


My sister Molly called me after my sleepwalking post to say Lexie had her 6-month appointment and the pediatrician recommended not feeding Lexie at night anymore. I decided to stop feeding Sandy, too, and it is amazing how much better everyone is sleeping and Sandy is staying in her own bed, too.

She's Back!

My friend Leslie came home today from Kuwait where she has been serving with the Utah National Guard. We celebrated her birthday (just one day late) with a german chocolate cake. Yum!

Playgroup

Sandy and I joined a new playgroup. Our ward Relief Society Presidency changed and the new presidency is doing lots of fun things for young moms, including a weekly playgroup and a babysitting exchange for moms that want to go to a temple session.

Sandy is one of the youngest kids at the playgroup and the other kids are so good to share with her. Here we are surrounded by every single toy that was out. (Apparently praising the kids when they share a toy with Sandy works REALLY well.)