Ryan, Jayna, Eliza and Norah

December catch up

2012-01-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday to Norah!

What a great way to kick off December.We love you baby girl!

The free cake from Macy's to smash!

Toddler's favorite foods and of course costco cake!

Bounce house...it was awesome!

Loved every second of the cake smashing, no hesitation at all. Just dove right in!

Presents!

Thanks to everyone who came, it was a great 1st birthday for our Norah!

Where were you one year ago today?

2011-12-01T09:21:00.003-07:00

We were welcoming sweet Norah into our family.

We are so grateful to call you ours, we love you so much!

Happy 1st Birthday Norah girl!

2011-10-28T09:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Ryan!

We love you more than we can say!

Love,

Your 3 favorite girls

2011-10-03T13:43:00.004-06:00

I am grateful that families can be together forever.

I love these three more than I can say.

Beach Babies

2011-09-25T17:34:00.001-06:00

The girls love going to "the beach" we go multiple times a week. You will notice all the outfit changes in the pictures as proof as to how often we go.

We are all loving this beautiful fall weather and are trying to enjoy as much outdoor time as possible before colder temps and snow comes our way.

Lets just not think about that quite yet!

only down side is that sometimes this little one decides to try to eat the sand...we're working on it.

You know it was a good nap when...

2011-09-18T15:34:00.002-06:00

you are

rockin'

awesome nap hair! Good nappin baby!

Steed Family Reunion 2001

2011-09-14T16:41:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures from our Labor Day Weekend Steed Family Reunion. We went camping at Heber Valley Camp, it was a beautiful area with really great camping facilities. Awesome yurts, bathrooms and kitchen area. We had a great weekend with everyone.

It was a bit hectic at times with 7 kids under the age of 3 1/2. Thanks to lots of helpful hands everyone was held/watched over and all had a good time. Big thanks to Karen's big kid's for helping with the little ones and entertaining them as well.

Claire, Kennedy and Norah hanging out by the fire pit.

Clayton spent most of the weekend playing with the magnifying glass. There were lots of little burn marks everywhere. He had a good time and was really safe...good job Clayton.

Kennedy, Bill, Karen and Connor. Apparently Kennedy wasn't winning!

Karen and Baby Jane

Me and Norah. I love her little foot kicked up.

Grandma Kay ALWAYS had a baby in arms this weekend. No really I hardly saw her with out one! Here she is with cute little Vivian.

Lucy and Eliza having some breakfast. These girls loved playing together outside, they had a blast!

Me and Norah eating breakfast. Norah wanted to be down exploring, a little tough when she also wants to eat dirt and wood chips! Luckily the yurts were carpeted so she could get down and play sometimes. Good thing too she is very squirmy lately!

Uncle Jason came from Virginia. It was so good to see him it had been 2 years almost. Way too long. He also had a baby or a toddler for most of the weekend. Thank you Uncle Jason for helping out with this kids! They loved it and so did we!

Playing in the sand at the water front. Everyone went for a boat ride the night before. Norah and I skipped it so she could have a normal bedtime. Everyone said the Pontoon (sp?) boat was a lot of fun.

Ryan, Kay and I got to do a quick walk around the lake. It was less than a mile and Kay's friend Vi watched the girls for us. Vi and her husband are full time missionaries at the camp ground. It is a church run camp for girls camp. What a great mission, eh?!

Cute Baby Jane

Marc and Vivian

These two were always together if you haven't noticed yet.

David and Uncle Jason

Grandma Kay and Clayton. Clayton auctioned off one of his "magnifying glass" art pieces and Grandma Kay was the highest bidder. He did a great job!

Brigham...yea all the toddlers had a nice layer of dirt on them. They were in heaven.

Katie, Vivian and Karen.

Pirate Eliza

Pirate Claire and Pirate Eliza

Me, Norah and Karen. Behind us is the kitchen facility. We ate really good food while we were camping and LOTS of it too!

Jason, being photogenic. Ha Ha get it?

Baby holder one and two. I mean Kennedy and Karen.

Connor and Bill

The site

Grandma and Grandpa the ones who started all this craziness. :)

Jason and Ryan

The boys, oh and Jane.

Claire also a champion helper with the little kids. Eliza and Lucy love to play with her. Thanks for your help Claire

Here she is in action!

Katie and blanket. Just kidding I'm sure Vivian is in there somewhere.

Becky, Jane, Brigham and David

The Yurts, there were 3 of them and were very nice. Thanks again to everyone who made this reunion happen. We were so grateful to have time with family and time in nature. You made our first trip camping as a little family wonderful! Now if we could only invent sound proof, warm, baby friendly tents we would go again next weekend! Since there is no such thing I think we'll wait til next year ;)

I laughed out loud...

2011-08-30T23:53:00.001-06:00

when I saw this down load from Ryan's phone. I love this girl.

The best $13 bucks I've spent in a long time....

2011-08-24T20:53:00.000-06:00

p.s. This one will be crawling in no time. Watch out world here she come's!

Summer Stuff

2011-08-19T18:15:00.000-06:00

This is what we have been up to lately...

Playing outside and looking super cute while doing it.

Visiting with Jake, Amy and Ruby. We love you guys, it was such a great day!


Cut off my hair...I have been growing it out since I was pregnant with Norah. Me + long hair= awkward, I feel better with a chin length bob. I've just had that for a a decade and wanted something new. Oh well.

Went to Las Vagas for baby Jane's blessing. Here are the 4 cousins from 2008/2009

And here are the 4 cousins for 2010/2011. We had babies in the same order two years in a row. Lots of toddler and baby chaos when we all get together!

Norah tried a french fry. As you can see it went over well. :)

Cousin Sarah came for a quick visit! The Smith's were in Utah for a soccer tournament for Andrew (he played great by the way) and we stole Sarah for a sleep over and a day with the little cousins. Thanks for all your help again Sarah.

Splash Pad in Spanish Fork

Trying on flip flops

It's pretty obvious that Eliza adores her cousin Sarah. She was her little shadow all day.

Driving the ice cream truck

She does eat healthy foods as well. Trying out an apple.

Intently watching the soccer game...she is rooting on her cousin Andrew. Mostly with apple juice and drool.

One more family picture...I just love Eliza's expression.

I wonder why my tomato plants did not do well this year. Maybe it's because these two neighborhood kitties sleep here every night. Ignore the dead/dying herbs. The cats had nothing to do with killing off those I did that all by myself.

Summer Fam Pictures

2011-07-29T00:16:00.000-06:00

Hair Cut!

2011-07-21T11:01:00.000-06:00

Before

After

She was awesome for the stylist, sat really still and looked wherever that stylist told her to. Eliza and I just asked that she not use the blow dryer and Eliza was good to go. She really hates blow dryers, we talk about it every time we go into a public restroom, or when I do my hair. (which is not very often :)) She got a pink sucker and then a trip to Wendy's for lunch with the whole family. It was a good day.

Cousins!

2011-07-18T11:33:00.000-06:00

We were lucky to have Angie and the girls come visit us for a week. Alexa had EFY at UVU during the week so we didn't get to see very much of her but she had a great experience at EFY and is looking forward to doing it again next summer. We had lots of fun with Angie and Sophie and here are a few of the things we did.

Carousel at Provo Beach

Eliza waved almost the entire ride, it was pretty funny since there was only one person watching us. The guy operating the ride! He was a good sport and waved enthusiastically every time we circled by. It was really funny.

Norah and I on the carousel. Not sure if she liked it or not.

Sophie and Eliza riding the waves. I told Eliza to put out her arms and surf. This is what I got.

Wipeout

Sophie won this lips kazoo in the arcade and Eliza thought it was a pacifier. Eliza was leery of it though because of the weird sound it made.

We went to Bridal Veil Falls and then out to Thai food. Angie and Sophie were there we just didn't get a pic of them.

Last night of Alexa's EFY. We all came to pick her up and show her we love her!

Sophie was an awesome fly swatter during the week and Eliza wanted to be just like her.

Nectarines

2011-07-10T20:12:00.000-06:00

Delicious!

4th of July Celebrations!

2011-07-09T16:38:00.000-06:00

At the parade

Waiting for it to begin...

self portrait, love those lips!

Oh mom! Put away the camera!

Watching the parade with Lucy

Love this pic, she is always reaching for the camera.

Grandpa bought us Kettle Korn, yummy!

and he bought us cold water too.

More time with cousins, thanks Alison and Sienna for entertaining her.

She waved and waved, she loved the marching bands and fire trucks the best.

Trying cotton candy for the 1st time. Not a big fan, but she is a big fan of Uncle Mike and Aunt Caroline!

Managed to sneak in a nap during the festivities. She even slept through the cannon being shot!

Waiting for the next float.

Poppers! Eliza and Lucy loved them, thanks Sienna for all of your help.


Woke up just in time for the end of the parade, sleepy eyes and blanket marks on her face. So cute.

We LOVED the 4th, thanks to family and friends for making it so memorable.

Thank you to all the men and women past and present, who serve to protect our freedoms.

We are so grateful.

Face Painting

2011-06-28T12:29:00.002-06:00

Ever since she got a pink nose and whiskers painted on her face for Easter she has been interested in face painting. At the Highland festival she got her face painted and is still talking about it. We were having a leisurely evening outside with friends Brad and Andrea when she decided to try her hand at this art form. I think she did pretty well for a first timer. :)

She did pedicures free of charge

She did her own face with a little help from Brad.

Her willing 1st subject

That is one patient dad to let her paint inside his ears!

She was so quiet and concentrated for the whole process. Too funny.

End product, perhaps she was inspired by blue man group.

So cute

Trip to Oregon

2011-06-17T14:48:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from our awesome trip to Bend this past May. Here is how it went

Driving to Boise (our baby may or may not have actually eaten some frosty.) Eliza walked around the restaurant and sang ABC's and Mary Had A Little Lamb. Unfortunately no one tipped her for their musical entertainment during their meal.

We like to teach our children young how to contribute to the family. The gas attendant took this shot, Ryan and I were inside buying snacks. What a good helper Eliza!

Soccer Day with Boise cousins.

Watching the game

We recently bought her a pink camping chair, and she proclaimed, "hey a chair just like Sarah's at the baseball game!" Baseball, soccer whatever. I was just impressed she remembered since it was like 2 months ago. The day definitely made an impression. :)

Alexa and Norah

Sophie and Norah

On a walk to Stover Park, my childhood neighborhood park. Awww love that park.

High Desert Museum. Fun day looking at fish, otters, birds of prey and other wild animals.

Eliza naming the letters on all of the signs.

Bend cousins :)

Love Eliza's cheesy posed grins as of late. Silly girl.

Norah is no light weight baby but somebody ALWAYS wanted to tote her around. She loved it!

Hooray, trying rice cereal at Nonnie's and Grandpa's house for the first time ever!

Being silly in Nonnie's kitchen.

Exploring new parks and climbing on synthetic rocks that Uncle Mark's company built. Eliza was pretty good at bouldering (with a little assistance from Daddy)

Trip to Belnap Springs to check out the secret gardens.

Secret Garden discovered!

and to spend some time with Grandma Eileen. We sure do love her and Eliza loved talking and playing with her for the afternoon.

In a big brass pot. This pot traveled across the plains in a covered wagon. I'm sure it was used for many things, cooking, laundry and an occasional baby bathtub.

Sweet Norah

Family Dinosaur Ride.

Exploring more parks with Nonnie.

Beautiful Bend weather.

Not so Beautiful Bend weather...same day as the picture above. We went for a walk during the girls nap and got stuck in a rain/hail storm. It was awesome, no seriously we both loved it and had a good laugh.

Driving home..long but they were troopers. Can't wait to go back next year (or sooner hopefully!) Thanks Grandpa, Nonnie, Angie, Mark, Alexa and Sophie for the fun time and for spoiling us all! We love you all lots and lots!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Norah

2011-06-02T08:50:00.005-06:00

Well June 1st was her 1/2 b-day but close enough

Happy 1/2 birthday Norah girl....we are so happy you are apart of our family!

Norah

2011-05-04T08:31:00.000-06:00

Ryan blessed Norah 2 months ago. We had lots of family come to town to celebrate with us and also to celebrate my nephew Caleb's baptism. The morning of the blessing was hectic and busy of course. Then after church we went to Kay and Dave's to have a family lunch. We visited and had a good time, Norah was being passed around and held by everyone. She got fussy so I fed her and then of course she proceeded to spit up ALL over. Needless to say she was stripped down and the blessing dress was not photographed that day. Being the awesome mom that I am I finally got some photos of her in her dress...just about 2 months later! The dress still fit so why not right? Plus now she was much more smiley and interactive. We love you Norah and are so happy you are in our family!

Happy May Day!

2011-05-01T22:49:00.000-06:00

This little one had a major ear infection on Easter Sunday.

So the girls wore their Easter dresses for May Day instead.

This photo shoot was post church/pre-nap. Needless to say it didn't last long and Eliza had crazy hair and a little lunch on her face. Still dang cute if you ask me!

Both looking at the camera, I think there were 3 like this! :)

Ryan tried to get their attention, I don't remember what he did but neither one seemed too impressed by it! I love both of their expressions.


Ahhh sisterly love!

Happy May Day everyone!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:38:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter from all of us! Here is what we did.

Hung out with cousins, literally.

Cute kids. David, Eliza, Norah, Brigham and Lucy. Just imagine I'm not there.

Shaking the eggs.

Searching for eggs.

Stopping and opening every egg.

Cute girls excited for the hunt! This is their 3rd year doing the Easter egg hunt together, so fun.

Yes that's a beanie baby bear in her bucket. We can't leave home with out at least one.


At Macy's Grocery store trying out to be an apprentice Easter Bunny. She left the face paint on all day because she wanted Daddy to see her whiskers. It was pretty dang cute and smudgy after nap, Ryan loved it! Hope you all had a very Happy Easter!

What we have been up to lately

2011-04-15T19:40:00.000-06:00

We have been playing at all the new places by our home...Provo mall play place, I like it better than the Orem mall tree house except she constantly asks to ride the train that circles by. Tricky way to make parents spend more money...annoying.

She LOVES the new parks in the area

Borrowing a neighbors bike...I think she will be wanting one for this summer.

Playing with friends Cecilia, Zach and kittens.

Norah and Taryn playing, well sort of :) Mostly just laying around being oblivious to one another.

This is the morning after sleeping in their new beds, Norah in the pac n play and Eliza in her twin bed. Eliza loves snuggling with Norah in the mornings, I think Norah likes it too.

Cute girls

1st night out of the bassinet...she did well except she liked the sound of her finger nails scratching the side of the pac n play. So annoying!

Our new neighbor went out of town for spring break and asked us if we would watch her cat and 7, yes SEVEN 3 week old kittens! Eliza has loved it. As for me it has been good and also a good reminder. I DO NOT WANT PETS! ( I might reconsider once Eliza is old enough to help....maybe)

Norah doing her part and helping out with the the kitty sitting.

Cute white kitten, she is so gentle with them. We do hold the other kittens, not just the white one in case you were thinking we were racist or something. :)

Off to the church for an Daddy Daughter Date. Elders Quorum activity in our new ward, they both had a great time.

at the church making crafts and eating ice cream. She sure loves her daddy! ps this is her smile when you ask her to say cheese or smile..... awesome. :)

Just after bath time, Nothing better than a warm, clean and snuggly baby!

Hanging out with Mom on the UVU shuttle, she loves it!

That is just a snippet of what we've been up to, I'm still trying to unpack and make our new house a home. We are really loving the additional space and back yard (when we can use it) I hope the weather starts to resemble spring some time soon.

Moving.....

2011-03-13T15:06:00.001-06:00

Life is changing, we are moving to Springville! We decided we wanted a bigger place with the addition of Norah to our little fam and we spent about 48 hours on the house hunt and found a perfect little town house in Springville that will fit all of our needs for the next year or so. When Ryan finishes his bachelors next December we are up for moving anywhere, to find the right ICU job for him. Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Florida (not really florida but you know, maybe)...we will see. But for now we know for sure we will be heading 10 miles south of where we are now and we are excited/sad about it. Excited for backyard space, bedrooms, multiple bathrooms and bigger kitchen etc. Sad to leave good neighbors and friends. We have been in this ward (3 1/2 years) the majority of our marriage. They have seen us bring home babies, grow as a couple and as a family and been such an inspiration and support to us all along the way. We will have to be very selective who we rent this little condo to, we hope it is to someone who will really appreciate this ward and the good people in it.
So hears to new adventures and to good people that have blessed our lives.

Thank you!

and p.s. we have really cute kids

Sleeping Beauty

Sunglass Diva and yes we are working on taking away the pacifier. She just loves it so, sigh.

Valentines Day Photo Shoot

2011-02-22T09:37:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo shoot with a 2 month old

Valentines Day

and here is a photo shoot with a 2 year old

Valentines Day 2

Can you tell the difference?

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

Sisters

2011-01-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

Eliza is starting to enjoy Norah lately, Norah is much more smiley and Eliza really loves that.

I'm so glad they have each other, I LOVE having sisters!

Strollin'

2011-01-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Our new stroller! Luckily it's been nice the past two days and we have gotten to test it out. We love it! (and yes it is HUGE!)

My view...too cute. :)

6 Weeks with 4 in the house

2011-01-13T13:32:00.001-07:00

It's been 6 week's since Norah arrived and what have we been doing you ask?

Hanging out,

sleeping, well Eliza has but not so much for Norah, we're working on it.

Taking baths together,

and again just hanging out. We haven't gone out much and have still had the flu and a cold hit our house. Winter flu and cold season is the best when you have a new baby. We will be hiding until April...see you then. :)

You've had a birthday, shout HOORAY!

2011-01-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

Eliza had a Blue's Clue's Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese!

Her dream come true, she LOVES cake...almost everyday for 2 months she asks at meal time "birthday cake with candles?"

12 cousins got to come and some neighborhood friends too!


She gave Chucky a high five...I was so proud, usually she is scared of mascots. Happy Birthday Eliza, we are so happy you are in our family and can hardly believe how quickly the past two years have gone! We love you!

She's here!

2010-12-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Eliza would like to introduce...

Norah Evelyn Steed 12-01-2010

7 lbs 10 oz 19 inches long (but I think she is longer than that)

She is very sweet and calm

We are so happy she is finally here and is happy and healthy. Now wish us luck on adjusting to life as a family of four!

Check out her hospital photo shoot...password is 1201norahsteed

C is for Baby

2010-11-30T16:34:00.002-07:00

Well in our case C-section is for baby! We are all set to go in tomorrow morning and meet our new little girl. I am so excited and so not ready, but that is life I suppose. It didn't help in preparation this week that Eliza had a 24 hr flu bug yesterday and I went on Antibiotic's to clear up a nasty lingering cold. Nothing like welcoming a new baby into a house full of sickies. All is much, much better today. I have nearly all of my to-do list done, Eliza is back to her usual fun self and has been asking to eat Birthday Cake all day. I guess she is feeling better and has intuition that a very important Birthday is happening tomorrow. Wish us luck and we will post pictures of our new little one as soon as possible!

Sorry for the crappy picture...I realized today that I have no profile shots of this pregnancy, oops. This is me at 39 weeks.

Trick or Treat or.....

2010-11-02T13:58:00.000-06:00

maybe just invite yourself in to have some dinner.

People asked what she was...I don't know I just had cute lederhosen I had found years ago in a dumpster that just had to be worn! So maybe she was Heidi, maybe she was one of the Van Trapp children, whatever makes you happy I suppose.

I just thought she looked dang cute, hope you all had a very Happy Halloween!

P.S. we have a scheduled C-section for Dec 1st.....yeah that is less than a month away now.

I am freaking out, just a little bit, but mostly excited!

Vineyard Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-25T13:44:00.003-06:00

Our family outing to the Pumpkin Patch

Eliza LOVED the animals and had no fear of sticking her fingers in their cages.
I did not love that, especially with the goats and crazy chickens, no bites this time but its bound to happen someday.

Family Pumpkin Portait!


She looks so grown up to me here. She hated the bounce houses and loved the swing set (of course) she is still a swing lover. It was perfect weather and a really fun night. We picked out a little pumpkin for her to bring home, but have yet to carve it, hopefully before Halloween!

Family Photos

2010-09-28T21:31:00.000-06:00

We tried to get some family pics before we go from being a family of 3 to a family of 4, plus I didn't want to be too pregnant in the pictures (vain, I know.) We will have to try again...it was a super hot day, the sun was too bright causing weird shadows and Eliza just wanted to get down and go to the "wing, the wings?!" (ie. swings)

But we did get one shot of her looking at the camera, never mind her fingers are in her mouth, we'll take it.

This depicts how the photo shoot really went, Eliza launching herself to get DOWN!

Fortune

2010-09-05T16:23:00.000-06:00

At dinner last night, Ryan and I got the best fortune cookies ever!

Jayna's fortune

A short stranger will soon enter

your life with blessings to share.

Ryan's fortune

Remember three months from this date.

Good things are in store for you.

A little ironic considering it is almost 3 months to the date that we are due to have our baby.

I thought it very funny that mine read "short stranger" I guess that is what a new baby is though really.

We all had a good laugh.

Then we went to this place for fun. Shopped and found this for Eliza,

I know she won't go to school for some time but I just couldn't resist!

Last but not least dessert!

Thanks Brad and Andrea for a really fun night!

Where did summer go?

2010-08-30T21:17:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from our summer!

Fourth of July

4th of July Parade

Visit to Nonnie and Grandpa's house, she LOVED it there!

Favorite park in Bend, hanging out with Alexa

Alexa, Eliza and Sophie. She loved having time with cousins.

Best hotel pool ever at the Oregon Coast, good thing it was there since the temps were in the 60's and terribly windy.

First time on the beach....it was dang cold. In the back ground is mom and Angie looking very cold!

Steed Family Summer 2010

I love this pic of her...so cute.

More time with cousins, Sarah, Benjamin and Levi

At the pool in Boise

Got sick after our trip...luckily it wasn't during our trip. It's always better to be sick at home.

Reed, Eliza and Ruby!


Kevin, Rhiannon, Reed, Us, Jake, Amy and Ruby. Always fun to have the Hawken's around, it was a great time!

Sorry for the picture heavy post but it is just a lot to catch up on! Right in the middle of all of these festivities we found out that this coming December we are having another girl! We could not be happier and Eliza is already saying baby sister. Although I do not think she has any idea what that all entails, she will figure it all out soon enough. She (baby girl #2) is looking healthy so far and I am feeling great. We have a due date of Dec 8th and a tentative C-section date of Dec 1st. Depending on how things go at the end of my pregnancy. Hard to believe I am about six months along...this is going by much, much faster than my pregnancy with Eliza!

Now that life has settled down a bit and we are done traveling for awhile, I will try to post more regularly, but that is our summer in a nut shell.

Scottish Festival 2010

2010-07-07T12:54:00.001-06:00

We had the chance to go to the Scottish Festival last month with our friends, Rachel and Eric. We loved it! It was a nice cool, rainy morning, typical Scotland weather, not typical Utah weather, but it was great! We had a lot of fun watching the crazy highland sports, listing to bagpipe music and watching the dancing. There was a great parade of all of the clans with their crest's and tartans, and lots of great music. There were vendors that had the crest's and origins of surnames and you could look up your family name information, plus lots of vendors with swords, knives and all sorts of celtic jewelery. My favorite was the delicious brewed root beer and the fun vendor food. We had fish and chips, meat pies and mashers. It was delicious! We will for sure be going again next year!

Eliza was not so sure about the homemade root beer but she LOVED the dancing and music, she would stomp her feet and spin in circles. She really had a great time!

Hello Summer

2010-06-24T21:38:00.004-06:00

So, lots of big new at our house...

(no we did not buy a horse)

Isn't that a great picture of two siblings and their cute babies? awww love it!

So back to the big news...

I am now a full time stay at home mom!
It's been SO GREAT.
So great I have not had time to blog about it,
but I am truly grateful for this blessing!
Did I mention it's been great?

Summer has officially arrived, Ryan finished classes yesterday!

Hooray, no more Statistics!

Eliza is talking more and more and will frequently ask for...
popcickles!?
So we have been eating LOTS of popsicle's.

We have already decided what to get Eliza for Christmas...
I know it's a bit early for Christmas shopping but we have decided to get her a new baby!
We sure hope she likes it, we will find out if she is getting a
brother or a sister next month.

That's all our big news for now,
I'll be posting more soon.

I promise.

Oh I forgot...

2010-05-20T14:38:00.002-06:00

I have a blog! Sorry its been a long time since I have posted anything. My mother has sweetly reminded me over the phone but life has just not stopped long enough for me to have the time to down load cute pictures of Eliza and for me to put in the dialog of her ever exciting life. I will give you a hint of what is to come, it includes a nearly naked toddler and a mud puddle. It was love at first sight, I'll tell you that much. What else has been going on you ask? Well, one exciting thing is that I have put in my two weeks notice at work. I am so happy that I will finally be a professional stay at home mom! It has been 17 months in the making and I hope to never take it for granted. I am sure I will in some way or another, but not being chained to the phone and computer for work will be so liberating! I have been lucky to have a flexible job that has allowed either me or Ryan to be with her all day, but it will be so great to not have to juggle 20 hours in the office and 20 hours at home. So please call me and we will set up play dates and walks and all the other fun stuff I have been day dreaming about. It is coming at a really great time because Eliza has now learned the words, swing, go?! (with a pleading look) and door. She is constantly requesting to "go" it will be nice to just pick up and be able to go a little more often. Speaking of talking Eliza has been chatting quite a bit lately. She learned to say Happy Birthday on my birthday, which was a great present, she says it so clearly and sweet. Now when ever she sees anything sweet like a cupcake, cake, ice cream, candy or fruit snack. She will say Happy Birthday and then expect to get the treat in return. It's really quite funny, and hard to resist. My other new favorite thing she can say is "I love you" she says it at bed time and it just melts me. Her less than cute new skill is throwing temper tantrums, the moment we walk out of our house she says "swing?" and when I say no, car or anything else she lunges to get down and starts to cry and scream. Oh how fun, we are trying our best to just ignore the behavior and reward her for calming down and trying to talk. One other great (and totally random) thing was yesterday I got home from work and Ryan and Eliza were at Grandma Kay's house playing and I was home alone. Let me repeat that HOME ALONE, seriously I could not remember the last time that has happened! I do have alone time occasionally, for meetings, errands but I am out doing busy stuff not just relaxing. There are also evenings when Ryan has had class or clinical and I am sort of alone, Eliza is always sleeping in the next room, there is a part of your brain that is tuned into a child sleeping. But this was the first time in ages I was home alone and my brain was tuned into nothing, it was so great, I sat on the couch enjoyed the silence and read my book. Well this was a random, rambling post I guess just wanted to let you all know we are still here and happy. I will post pictures soon and tell you all more of Eliza's great adventures.

Pink Boon

2010-04-26T20:58:00.001-06:00

Some people at the park were having a birthday party, Eliza kept exclaiming "boon!" "Oh Wow!" "boon!" until the lady untied one and handed it to her. I tried to keep her away from the party but it was useless. So I tied the "boon" to her belt loop and it entertained her for hours.

Mmmmm Frosting!

2010-04-25T16:07:00.000-06:00

Eliza does not like it when I cook, she doesn't like the noise it makes and it frustrates her to not be able to see what I am doing up on the counter tops. Sometimes I will hold her and do as much as I can with one hand. If its not too messy I will set her on the counter and let her "help". She really doesn't like the hand held beater because of all the noise it makes, but after I showed her what it can make with cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and a little vanilla. I think she is coming around to the idea of loud kitchen appliances. It took a little convincing for her to try it but once she got her little hands on it she licked it clean!

Vocab

2010-04-15T20:38:00.002-06:00

I don't want to forget so here is a list of what Eliza can say...(or at least what I can interpret)

Apple (forgot this one and it is one of her favorites)
Mom
Dad
Woof Woof (when she see's a dog)
Hoo hoo (when she see's an owl)
Avocado (seriously so cute when she says it)
Grape
Ball
Balloon (boon)
Purple
Red
Pasta
Yes (but will shake her head no)
Up
On
Off
Water
Splash (mostly she just does is and says Sssshhhhh!)
Book
Light
Eye
Eye Lash (more like eye shhhh)
All done (all D is what she really says)
Phone
Milk
Bottle

There is more that I am probably missing but here is what I can remember. She understands a lot too, it is so fun to talk to her and have her talk back. What a fun insight to her little world. I am also happy to say NO is not on this list but it will not last for long I am sure. She does make it very clear in other ways like shaking her heard, thrashing around or going totally limp if she doesn't want to do something. Also note there is no please or thank you yet, we are working on it :)

Ahhh toddler hood is great!

Sarah and Eliza

2010-04-09T14:45:00.000-06:00

I think Eliza looks like Sarah's mini-me in these photos. Sarah was so sweet and just followed Eliza around where ever she wanted to go, you are such a wonderful big sister and cousin Sarah!

We love you lots and lots!

Photography Skills

2010-04-08T11:01:00.000-06:00

Here is some of Eliza's recent photos

that is my hand and the pink blob is her fingers over the lens.

Here is another with blurry fingers

and this is what she looks like when I take away the camera.

We have lots of blurry finger pictures.

Easter

2010-04-06T09:54:00.000-06:00

First of all here is our Easter loot...I bought Eliza a recorder.

She is really into music so I thought she would like it. She blew on it once,

it scared the living daylights out of her and she won't go near it again. It was so funny.

She is now fully aware of candy and if she sees it she will whine to have some.

This is a great new development, oh well it was bound to happen someday.

She really liked hunting eggs and was extra happy when she discovered there was candy inside. She would get one egg in each hand and did not like to drop them into her basket, we kept trying to distract her and slip them in her bag so she would end up having more than just two clutched in her little fists. Thanks Marc and Katie for inviting us to your neighborhood hunt, next time we will hope for better weather...last year it rained and this year it was FREEZING! I guess that is just springtime in Utah.

Hope everyone else had a very Happy Easter, we sure did!

Dad Couch

2010-04-03T16:10:00.000-06:00

The best and most comfy way to watch General Conf

As per Eliza.

Happy Friday

2010-04-02T10:07:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter/ General Conf. weekend!

Couch Potato

2010-03-30T21:26:00.001-06:00

Eliza love's to play on the couch,

she flips and flops around and loves to

play peek-a-boo and have snuggle time all while being on the couch.

Sometimes she will fuss and whine when I put her down on the floor.

One other thing about these pictures...does this shirt look familiar?

Yup, its a dress that Eliza wore when she was six months old!

Too cute.

Cousin Time

2010-03-30T21:12:00.000-06:00

Eliza and I took a trip to Boise last weekend to go to cousin Andrew's baptism and cousin Levi's blessing. We had a lot of fun seeing family and playing. Only sad thing was that Ryan could not come along with us, school and clinical's got in the way. Eliza was loving all the kids to play with and she especially loved Levi, she kept trying to kiss him and would press her forehead on his face, luckily Levi was patient with her and was able to withstand all of her "loving" attention.

We also spent some time with Alexa and Sophie, they came to Utah for spring break.

Again Eliza LOVED all of the attention.

Thanks for the fun weekend everyone!

So much to catch up on...

2010-03-28T21:24:00.000-06:00

First of all we conquered our fear of tubes.

(didn't know we had this fear but we sure did)

Next fear to conquer...

the swings.

Hope everyone has a good week and that you go out and conquer one of your own fears.

Time flies when you are having fun

2010-03-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is Eliza one year ago today. Her cheeks are less chubby but just as kissable.

Love you baby girl.

I guess...

2010-02-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

I should do some laundry.

Hope you all had a good weekend, now back to real life.

*sigh*

You say tomahto and I say tomayto

2010-02-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

This is Eliza helping me unload the groceries, well sort of. This is what she did while I unloaded them. It kept her quiet and she ate half a tomato in the process! It was pretty funny and she was mad when I tried to take it away her, so I chopped up the rest and she ate almost all of it!

Oh how I love thee? Let me count the loads....

2010-02-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is one awesome Valentines Day present,

and I am not being sarcastic at all.

Seriously this is one sexy washer!

This is what Ryan and I bought each other for Valentines Day.

Ladies if you want one of these next year make sure you washer motor quits working on Feb 12th.

It beats a box of chocolates!

Vintage

2010-02-11T22:03:00.001-07:00

My mom sent this outfit to me, I wore it when I was a baby in 1980. Here is is 30 years later and still in style.
Well sort of...

I am glad she sent it when she did because it barely fit Eliza and it is size 18 months.

She is so darn cute!

Painting Girl

2010-02-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Eliza tried her hand at finger painting...it was a mixture of flour and water with food coloring.

She enjoyed eating it, although it was really gross tasting.

And this is her finished product, she did the ink blot technique all by herself, and it turned out to be a masterpiece!

Inspiring.

Walking Girl

2010-02-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Its official Eliza is walking, she has been "walking" on her knees for several months now and she just decided this past weekend to walk on her little feet. She has been taking steps here and there but it was only a few steps and short distances. Now I find her toddling all around the house with no audience or encouragement needed. It is so fun to see her looking so grown up and how she excited she is with her new accomplishment.

This picture has nothing to do with the post but she recently has been sticking her lower lip out when she sucks on her pacifier. It is a weird quirky thing she does and it kinda creeps me out. She is such a funny kid.

Life is Good

2010-01-26T16:44:00.001-07:00

Especially when you get to sit forwards in the car!

She loves her new car seat.

It wasn't that long ago that she was traveling like this.

What's new

2010-01-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Not too much is new around here we are

just chillin'.

Does January seem to be going slowly to anyone else?
I am ready for spring.
Anyone else?

Birthday Girl

2010-01-04T16:11:00.009-07:00

Well her big day came and went...I can hardly believe that she is 1!

Here she is checking out the candle,

she made a grab for it and I blew it out just in time.

She didn't like the feeling of squishing the frosting in her hands

and was a little apprehensive at first.

A little encouragement and a few bites later she did get into it.

Her one-onesie was hand stitched by Aunt Karen

thanks Karen for doing that I think it turned out so cute!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

What a fun year it has been.

Four years ago today

2010-01-01T11:50:00.005-07:00

I said "Yes!" and my life has just gotten better and better since.

I love you Ryan.

Mexican Riviera January 1st 2006

Jake and Amy got engaged the same day...Congrats to you as well!

Babies first Christmas

2009-12-26T21:43:00.004-07:00

This is what our Christmas morning looked like.

Cute baby Brigham and Eliza in their Christmas pajama's from Grandma Kay, getting ready to open presents for the first time ever!

Wait have to give this nice bald head a quick kiss.

Now lets get started on these presents!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Santa

2009-12-24T14:54:00.005-07:00

We decided it was finally time to take Eliza to sit on Santa's lap. Surprisingly, we only had to wait for about 20 minutes. I thought since it was Christmas Eve day it would have been much crazier. She didn't get scared or anything, but she kept looking at him like "What the heck is wrong with your face!" She's not used to facial hair.

Delicious

2009-12-23T10:33:00.004-07:00

This treat may look a little strange...

but trust me. It's delicious!

Our cousin/niece Alison taught us about this one.

Take one lemon and roll it around till it gets nice and soft. Use the soft mint sticks (you know like butter mints kinda) and punch it into the lemon. Start sucking and you will get a delicious/refreshing surprise!

Eliza is a fan and so am I.

(its really sticky and messing be sure to have napkins ready)

Count Down

2009-12-22T21:49:00.004-07:00

Thanks Nonnie for the advent calendar we have really been enjoying it.

Stickers are fun, Eliza thinks they are especially fun to eat.

Christmas is almost here and we can hardly wait!

Amoxicillan Sucks

2009-12-15T12:08:00.013-07:00

Eliza had a bad reaction to her antibiotics this weekend,
we got to go to ER two times over the weekend.
What fun.

Here is Friday night at the ER

She was diagnosed with hives and we got steroids to give her

Here is Saturday night, she was not responding to the steroids and benedryl like we would have liked. Her ears where HUGE and so painful, I felt so bad for her. Saturday she got a steroid shot and more meds and was diagnosed with Erythema Multiforme.

Sunday, starting to look a little better.

Monday at the pediatricians
(why do babies always get sick on Friday afternoons when the Dr.'s are not available?)

She has been such a good baby through this whole ordeal. So patient and happy. She is still breaking out and her skin is really scratchy especially her inner thighs and legs. We just try to keep clothes on her so she doesn't scratch too much. The break outs can continue for 2 to 4 weeks. We hope it is shorter than that for her sake. She has been really good like I said but she really HATES taking her meds. She has found lots of ways to squirm, spit and generally make it as difficult as possible. I don't blame her as they are really, really bitter.
Poor little girl, and yes that is medicine all over the front of her shirt.

We love you Eliza, you are such a trooper!

Thanksgiving in review

2009-12-02T15:45:00.016-07:00

So we headed to Boise on Wednesday morning bright and early to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with the Sears side. Eliza did awesome in the car and even got into watching a little of Baby Einstein, that was if she could hold and fiddle with the CD player. We have zero/nada/zilch pictures of the big Thanksgiving day and that is because Ryan and I got a 24 hour flu bug the night before Thursday. It really stunk. Luckily the place we were staying had lots of toys for Eliza to play with so Ryan and I would switch off entertaining Eliza and then spending some time in the bathroom. It was pretty humorous really and I was just thankful to spend the day with my little family. By that evening the bug had run its course and we did feel up for a little bit of holiday food. I just felt bad that Eliza missed out on all of the festivities but I think all in all she had a good day with mom and dad. I also felt bad because a few family members and Eliza all got the same flu bug. It was just the year for sickness really because my sister Angie had a sore throat, my brother Jon lost his voice. The kids went to the hotel swimming pool and all got mystery rashes. It was just a bummer of a holiday!

By Saturday Ryan and I were feeling better so we all went to the Boise festival of trees. Eliza was a little overwhelmed by it all but we had a good time and it got us all in the holiday spirit!

Eliza watching DVD's in the car

Her first Christmas experience

John Wayne Tree
(this is for our friend Jake, maybe Amy will let you decorate like this one year!)

Sesame Street Tree

Soda Pop Tree
(I really liked this one)

My brother-in-law Nathan helped decorate this tree. He works at Saint Al's and their tree got best of show. The theme is Polar Express, pretty impressive I thought.

Family photo,
Eliza looks thrilled to be there huh?

This was her favorite part of the whole experience. Ryan found a candy cane and we let her try it.
She loved it!

Eliza and my dad 11/2009

Eliza and my dad 05/2009

She is growing up so fast!
Only one more month until her birthday!
So exciting.

I am so excited

2009-11-22T21:01:00.009-07:00

Eliza is discovering and doing all sorts of new things lately.

#1
Eating yogurt in non-traditional ways

#2
Toilet paper discovery,
she was so pleased with herself.
(we also had our first "code brown" in the bathtub this week.
If you do know know what that is please give me a call and I will explain.
I did take a picture for Ryan but it is just too personal for the blogging world.
Gotta respect Eliza's privacy a little bit)

#3
Standing up and conversing with pink bear and pig.
She chatted with them for quite awhile.

#4
Getting your picture taken mid-cough.

There is a lot of exciting things happening at our house lately!

and here (just for fun) is our latest family portrait. I was thinking of using it for our Christmas cards, but then decided it was not featuring enough of Ryan and featuring too much of my double chin.

Merry Christmas to all the double chins in the world, and a Happy New Year!

Busy weekend and new tricks

2009-11-10T12:56:00.010-07:00

We had a lot of fun at cousin Lucy's birthday party

I love how she is just hanging out with the big kids by the teepee, she had a blast.

We also got to visit with Aunt Cari

2 days old & 10 months old

and we got to visit with some Alaska friends.

Guess what world, she can stand!
She is pulling herself into a standing position and feeling pretty excited about it.

One of the best things

2009-11-04T16:13:00.006-07:00

about babies... is that when you toot they look all around the room trying to figure out where that noise came from. Then give you a quizzical look at not being able to discover the source. They would never suspect it came from you. So polite.

Thanks Eliza, you're sweet not to suspect it was me.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T21:19:00.002-06:00

Love,
The Cupcake Family

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-30T09:15:00.012-06:00

We went to the pumpkin patch for FHE this past week, it was fun but we don't think Eliza really got it this year. Oh well we all had a good time.

Checking out some bunnies.

We walked her through the corn maze she liked it but in this picture she had just bonked her head. The rest of the time she did great.

Picking out the perfect pumpkin, I love her expression.

Happy with her pumpkin

Happy Birthday Ryan (daddy)

2009-10-28T09:07:00.008-06:00

You are the best husband and the world's greatest dad!

We love you,

and hope you have a great Birthday!

Love, Eliza & Jayna

Family Visit

2009-10-24T22:35:00.008-06:00

A couple of weeks ago my mom came to visit us. She was here for 2 1/2 days and this is the only picture I got of her.
I'm a Lame-O.

Mom, took care of Eliza while I worked a bit on Friday. They snuggled and had a nap together in the rocking chair just like they did first time my mom came 9 months ago to take care of her.

I am sure Eliza was a little bit bigger and it was less comfy than when she was just a little newborn. Thanks for spending that time with her Mom, I know she loved it too.

We went to the Mayan and had dinner with
Angie, Alexa, Sophie, Jon, Heidi, Palmer, Caleb and Angie's in-laws etc.

Here are all the cousins

I cut off Sophie's head so I got a picture of just her and managed to cut off her head again.
I am an awesome photographer, I know.

Thanks for coming, we loved having you here!

Flash

2009-10-22T09:55:00.009-06:00

This is how she reacts when she see's the camera, she gets ready for the flash. It is too funny and frustrating at the same time. I miss her automatic smile when she saw the camera, maybe she will do that again someday.
Until then...enjoy these pics!

Sheesh

2009-10-21T14:13:00.010-06:00

Who is running this blog around here? It has been nearly a month since anyone posted. Slackers.

Well here is what we have been up to lately we flew to Colorado to see some good friends the Hawken family. Eliza did AWESOME on the plane. Luckily for us it was only a one hour flight, but she totally loved it!

She looks mad but it is this new look she gives when she sees the light before the flash on the camera, I will post more pictures of this later.

Spending time with Ruby...they had a good time together and the day after we left the Hawken's Ruby looked all around her house calling "baby, baby?" So cute.

So much fun to spend time with Jake, Amy, Ruby, Sally, Clint, Matt*, Jana*, Ted* and Glenda*
(not pictured*) You see why we go there? We know half the town. Just kidding. Sally is due to have a little girl next month we are SO excited to meet her!

Here we are at Royal Gorge...the highest suspension bridge in the US (world?) I am not quite sure because it cost $24 to go and see it. We hiked up to the poor mans view and took a picture and then went to lunch. $24 for admissions, crazy!
We had a great vacation and loved spending time with good friends, thanks to Jake and Amy for letting us come!

Remember when

2009-09-28T20:51:00.005-06:00

She couldn't roll over?

And when she needed help sitting up?

Well not any more!

Its amazing what a few months will do.

p.s. she cut her first tooth today...hooray!

What you do when...

2009-09-18T11:01:00.008-06:00

Daddy takes a long time at REI looking at bikes?

You check out the tents

This one is more her size

and yes her eyes look sleepy in all three pictures. I'm tellin' ya, we were there a long time!

For Nonnies Birthday

2009-09-13T22:33:00.003-06:00

Eliza learned how to do this! Happy Birthday Nonnie...now nothing will ever be quite the same at our house. Hope you had a great day, we love you!

More Vegas

2009-09-08T15:50:00.004-06:00

I had to post this, we visited Cory and Holly while in Vegas and spent a little time at their house. Zachary (2 days older than Eliza) was cranky and tired so when he crawled past me I scooped him up and just held him for a minute. He got heavier and heavier and within just a few minutes he was out! It was too cute!

Like I said in the last post we went for Brigham's blessing but I did not take a single picture of him or his parents! I guess I will just have to wait until Becky posts pictures! Whoops.

Hotel

2009-09-08T10:00:00.006-06:00

We took a whirl-wind trip to Vegas and back this weekend to go to Brigham's baby blessing. It was really fun to see family and spend some time with everyone (albeit short.) There was a mix up with out online reservation, made with Travelocity, that we had booked online had not been received by the hotel and they were booked for the night. Travelocity kindly offered to give us a refund in full but of course at 9 PM with nowhere to go that just doesn't cut it. Ryan was firm and told them they needed to find us a hotel and that we would not go down in hotel and that they would have to pay the difference in cost. After an hour on hold and negotiating we finally ended up at our hotel, it was really nice, much nicer than where we had originally booked. We were very relieved and grateful for it, good job Ryan for sticking to it and getting us a safe place for the night! Here is Eliza enjoying the king size bed.

She slept in her pac-n-play for the night but got to have a snuggle in bed with us in the morning.
Nothing cuter than that smile to wake up to in the morning!

Highland Splash Park

2009-08-31T22:07:00.018-06:00

We went to this cool splash park with Kevin, Rhiannon and Reed last Saturday

I think she had a good time, she just sat and splashed and watched the older kids run around

like this guy, he knows how to scoot around

Then we went to another part of the park..."hey what is that?"

"no, seriously what is that?"

"I'm going to go find out!"

"Awesome!"

(these last quotes may have implied that Eliza can crawl...nope not yet, but soon hopefully)

Later we had dinner at Applebee's

(it looks like they are about to hold hands...awww cute)

"Okay mom here is your smile!"

"no, I think you got it..."

"mom, enough already, you got it!"

Fun day thanks Wilson family!

Steed Family Reunion 09

2009-08-28T08:50:00.006-06:00

Here is the whole family

The four babies born this last year

The dad's of the babies too

Family portrait

Sneak Peek

2009-08-24T15:25:00.005-06:00

We went to southern Utah for the Steed family reunion last weekend...

more pictures to come.

Eliza contemplating the wonders of nature

Story Time

2009-08-18T21:31:00.005-06:00

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the best, thanks Grandma!

Bike Ride

2009-08-10T11:51:00.001-06:00

On Saturday we went for a bike ride with Kevin, Rhiannon and Reed in Mapleton. It took a little longer than expected to get started and it coincided with Eliza's nap time. We got to the park and noticed she was slumped over asleep in the bike trailer, so Ryan just unbuckled her turned her so she was laying flat, propped her up with the diaper bag and rebuckled (is that a word?)her and we took off again. She slept the whole way, such a good baby!

Looks pretty comfy to me.

So Excited

2009-08-06T09:01:00.009-06:00

We are so happy that Becky and Joe's baby boy has finally arrived! We are excited to meet him and Eliza is stoked that he was born on the 7th month anniversary of her birth-day!

Welcome Baby Brigham

With his arrival it concludes, well I guess just begins the year of the babies for the Steed family

Zachary Steed 12/31/2008
Eliza Steed 01/02/2009
David Steed 05/31/2009
Brigham Hellewell 08/02/2009

I have a feeling it is going to get a little crazy around here!

note: not actual Steed/Hellewell babies
these are their stunt doubles

Silly Dad

2009-08-04T20:12:00.004-06:00

This is what happens when I am in a hurry and I ask Ryan to get Eliza dressed for me...

helpful.

At least they have a good time together, who cares if we are a few minutes late.

Immobile but Mobile

2009-08-01T13:24:00.007-06:00

Eliza is still quite immobile, she is not an ambi-roller, she is not scooting or crawling in the least bit, but she is a turner. I have no idea how she does it, she just does. When I got her out of bed this morning I set her down to play. I set her on the floor with her back towards the pink boppy pillow in case she gets too excited and flails backwards (she is known to do that, but she is getting better at putting her hands back to catch herself like this) and then I left to make a fruit smoothie. Five minutes later I come back in the living room and she had done a 180!

This is her realizing that we are impressed with her turning skills

This is her newest smile, she scrunches up her nose and gives the biggest grin,

I love it!

and in the morning I'm making WAFFLES!

2009-07-31T09:44:00.007-06:00

The other morning Rhiannon came over with Reed who is teething right now and seemed down right miserable. I offered him a frozen waffle to gnaw on but he was not interested.

Guess who was.

the title is a quote from a movie...can you guess which one?

Happy Pioneer Day!

2009-07-24T13:00:00.007-06:00

They, the Builders of the Nation

They, the builders of the nation, Blazing trails along the way
Stepping-stones for generations Were their deeds of every day.
Building new and firm foundations, Pushing on the wild frontier,
Forging on-ward, ever on-ward, Blessed, honored Pioneer!

LDS Hymn Book pg 36

Wish I had one of these!

2009-07-21T21:11:00.006-06:00

I wish I had one of these...but where would I hang it?

Where's baby?

2009-07-14T21:42:00.002-06:00

This is how Eliza likes to sleep these days

looks really comfy doesn't it?

Spotted

2009-07-10T13:53:00.006-06:00

Driving down University Parkway in Orem on the back window of a car

Met on their Mission
now
Eternal Companions!

I thought it was pretty awesome, only in Utah County would you see something like that.

Ours would have been

Met in Denali Alaska while working for
Princess Cruise lines for the summer
now
Eternal Companions!

I think its a bit long, don't you?

What would yours say?

Met at 1,268th BYU singles ward back to school
mix n mingle FHE activity
now
Eternal Companions!

Maybe we should just stick to

this

Weekend update

2009-07-08T10:53:00.019-06:00

Here is what Eliza did over the 4th of July weekend.

she went swimming and loved it

sported a new swim suit

waited patiently for dinner (thanks Kevin and Rhiannon for a fabulous BBQ and swim day, topped off with smores! It was a perfect day.)

checking out the bubbles

tried out the 4th of July parade...it was very loud in the beginning with fire trucks and sirens.

Grandma tried to block some of the noise for her, so sad.

Hung out with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Mike

had some quality time with cousin Alison

got tired of the parade and tried to fall asleep but couldn't quite do it with all the noise

ate some delicious baby food thanks to cousins Kennedy and Sienna

hung out with dad

(Ryan would hold her vertically and she didn't even care or seem scared, it was really funny she just hung out)

wore a red and white dress to church to show her patriotism.
(with the green carpet she looks a little more like Christmas, oh well)

We had a fun weekend and appreciated the time spent with family and friends!

Rollin Rollin Rollin

2009-07-08T09:37:00.004-06:00

Finally at 6 months she decides it is time to learn to roll

On the 4th of July we were at Dave and Kay's and Eliza and I were hanging out with family. I told them of how funny she is when she lays on her belly, she just complains with a cute little whiny cry and just lays there. Well she wanted to prove me wrong and she rolled over for everyone. It was really exciting and we all clapped, unfortunately Ryan was not in the room so the next morning when she woke up we wanted to see if she could do it again, and she did!

1/2 Birthday

2009-07-02T15:31:00.005-06:00

It does not seem that long ago that I was writing this post, but
it is much more fun to have a six month old than to be six months pregnant.

Eliza is growing and changing so quickly, I love all the new things she is discovering and learning. Lately she is doing a really funny growly voice and high pitched squeals. I will have to get them on video. She is also learning to love baby food, she is a big fan of cereal but still flinches and makes funny faces when she eats veggies and fruit.
Happy 1/2 Birthday Eliza girl we love you so much!

Weekend

2009-06-29T21:54:00.006-06:00

Here is a look at our weekend fun

New bike trailer=family fun

Trying out the swings for the first time

not so sure

awww that's more comfy thanks Uncle Jon!

Good times had by all!

All I want

2009-06-26T14:47:00.012-06:00

is to make sure this girl has a very happy childhood.

inspiration from here

maybe I will pick up scrapbooking as well

first things first...I am going to go home and kiss those cheeks

Eliza and her Dad

2009-06-22T14:13:00.005-06:00

Happy Fathers Day to one great Dad!

Ryan got Eliza out of her car seat last night and was getting ready to put her in bed and I just had to take a picture of how cute the two of them are.
Eliza really loves her dad and Ryan is obviously smitten with her.

I bought these Alaska PJ's the season Ryan and I went up as a married couple. We really hadn't even thought about kids yet but I knew I would want a souvenir to pass a long to a little family member some time in the future.
I love that it says across the bum "trailing a little behind" too funny.

Thanks for being such a great husband and dad, we love you!